He Chose An Eternal Perspective (Forty Days with Jesus – Day 22, Mar 13th)

16 Mar He Chose An Eternal Perspective (Forty Days with Jesus – Day 22, Mar 13th)

Read Luke 9:23-27

Thought for the Day: I am called to live with an eternal perspective!

In 1956, a Christian missionary named Jim Elliot was killed in Ecuador by the very people he had gone down to preach the Gospel to. Having gone to Ecuador to spread Christ’s love and evangelize the Huaorani people, tragedy quickly struck and his life was cut short at 28. But, Elliot had not lived with an earthly perspective. Instead, he believed that “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” While Jim Elliot and four other missionaries lost their lives spreading Christ’s love, their courageous faith continues to leave a tremendous legacy almost seventy years later!

Jim Elliot was inspired by Jesus’ words in Luke 9:24 to go to Ecuador and preach the Gospel: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Jesus spoke these words to His disciples shortly after He explained that He would ultimately be rejected and killed. Rather than attempting to establish a present-day First Century earthly kingdom, He chose to live with an eternal perspective. Throughout His ministry, Jesus stressed the importance of seeking first the Kingdom of God and letting go of everything else.

In our lives, it is easy to hold onto the wrong perspective. If we are not careful, we begin to mistakenly believe that those who live for Jesus and lose everything in this life are foolish. The problem with this line of thinking is clear: every single one of us will perish in this life. Even if Jim Elliot hadn’t lost his life at 28, he wouldn’t have lived forever in this world. But, by focusing on an eternal perspective, he simply lost something he couldn’t have kept anyways. This Lent, let’s see the importance of letting go of what we can’t keep and focusing on the Kingdom of God instead!

Reflect & Pray – Am I too caught up in the things of this world? Do I need to let go of specific things leading me to live with the wrong perspective? God, grant me the courage to seek first the Kingdom!