Elisabeth Elliot

One of my long-time heroes, Elisabeth Elliot is well-known for being a woman with revolutionary ideas, old-fashioned standards, and a deep understanding of suffering. Even so, these things did not make me admire her at first. The way that I originally heard about Elisabeth was through the story of her first husband Jim.

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The book I read was actually about a woman named Rachel Saint, through it I learned the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint (Rachel’s younger brother), and their other 3 friends who were speared to death while attempting to make friendly contact with a savage, stone aged tribe in the jungles of Ecuador (the Waodani). As crazy as that sounds, it’s a true story. 

 

What first gripped my heart wasn’t these men’s incredible sacrifice and willingness to serve God with reckless abandon. It was the result of their sacrifice. The book tells how Rachel and Elisabeth forgave the Waodani people, went to live with them, and shared the Gospel with them. A little while after the men were martyred, some women from the tribe came out of the jungle and Elisabeth had the opportunity to return to their people with them. 

 

Now, if I was in her position, I imagine I would be angry. After a long tumultuous relationship, she finally married Jim, the man of her dreams. The Elliot's daughter Valarie was only 10 months old. Now she was “alone” in the jungles of Ecuador. Her entire life had been turned upside down. However, Elisabeth had a different perspective, she understood the reason the men were willing to die, they wanted to reach these people with the Gospel, no matter the cost. 

 

Yes, Elisabeth mourned her husband’s loss, but she didn’t stay there, recognizing the golden opportunity before her. The Waodani didn’t come out of the jungle except for raids. Yet, these ladies had come out to ask Elisabeth to live with them. Elisabeth and Rachel forgave the Waodani and agreed to live with them in the jungle, something no one had ever been able to do before. 

 

Now, I know the whole story, I can read books and learn the amazing miracles that followed, but Elisabeth didn’t. Still, she took her little girl with her into a place completely cut off from civilization with no guarantee that she would ever come out alive. That is incredible faith. Elisabeth lived with the Waodani for 2 years before returning to America where she eventually wrote many books, hosted a radio program, and spoke at events around the world. 

 

And the Waodani? All of the men who were involved in the spearing eventually gave their lives to Christ, many became like family to the Saint family and Valarie as well. Rachel Saint lived with them until she died. The impact that the martyrdom of Jim and his friends had on Waodani caused them to want to know why they sacrificed themselves. They couldn’t fathom why the men didn’t shoot them after finding that the missionaries were armed. Their deaths opened the door for the Gospel to be shared with these stone-aged people. By Rachel and Elisabeth choosing forgiveness and going to live with the Waodani, they completed the mission that Nate, Jim, and their friends had started. The tribe was exposed to the Gospel and many repented because of Elisabeth’s willingness to look beyond herself and her present circumstances into eternity. 

 

Forgiveness is not always easy. If you have ever been wronged by someone, you know how hard it can be to forgive. It’s relatively easy to forgive your sister for breaking your eyelash curler or forgive your mom for accidentally shrinking your favorite dress in the wash (at least it should be!). However, forgiving someone who killed your husband or brother is not so simple. As Christians, we are called to forgive as Christ has forgiven us.

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Ephesians 4:32-32

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

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What greater example of forgiveness than our Savior, Jesus, when He died for our sins, He looked upon his executors and said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34). The Bible also warns us that if we do not forgive others God will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15) that’s a terrifying thought. 

 

Now, my brother wasn’t speared to death by savage natives in Ecuador, but I have been hurt by people, words spoken, things done, and they left a mark. I dealt with a bully in school, she didn’t beat me up but she made my life miserable in other ways, I’ll spare you all the details, but her influence made me not even want to go to school. At times I had no friends because of the rumors she spread or because she weasled my “friends” away from me. When she left the school and I eventually moved away I was still hurt and angry. I knew I needed to forgive her, and I tried to. Whenever a pastor preached on forgiveness I would think about her. Many times I thought I had fovgiven her but, I would usually still pray the prayers of forgiveness that pastors would lead the congregation in after such sermons just to be safe. 

 

It wasn’t until later that I realized that I still harbored anger for her in my heart, when I would think about my time at that school it was shaded by the bad experiences I had with her. One time I saw her mom at a Chick-fil-A while visiting the city I used to live in and all that anger welled up inside me again. Within the past 2 years, I have truly forgiven her, I realized that being angry wasn’t hurting her, it was only making me miserable. Forgiveness is hard, and it’s a process, but it is so healing. If I hadn’t forgiven, I would be miserable inside, not able to look back on my childhood with peace. If Elizabeth hadn’t forgiven, an entire tribe may not have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel and the impact that she had on countless women throughout the rest of her life would’ve been lost. If Jesus hadn’t forgiven, well, we’d be dead. 

 

Forgiveness is a gift that we can receive but more importantly, a gift that we must give to others.