The enduring legacy of Elisabeth Elliot

I just heard the news that Christian missionary, author, and speaker Elisabeth Elliot died today.  She was 88.

Elisabeth Elliot left an incredible legacy for God.  Her life impacted so many lives.  Without a doubt, she will be remembered for many reasons.  For example, many will remember her as the host of the radio program “Gateway to Joy” which ran until 2001.  She would always begin her broadcast by quoting Jeremiah 31:3.  She would say, “You are loved with an everlasting love.”

Many will remember Elisabeth as a prolific author.  I have many of her books in my collection.  I think my favorite is her excellent work “Passion and Purity”.  I love this book and I would recommend it to you.  For those that don’t know, this is the book that describes the courtship she had with her first husband, Jim Elliot (a man who was eventually martyred for the cause of Christ) and the lessons she learned along the way.

 

There was a time when she and Jim were very much in love, but they didn’t get married until God gave the green light.  With that context, let me share a quote.  It’s a lengthier quote than I normally give in this blog, but it’s my tribute to Elisabeth Elliot.  It’s my tribute to her strong Christian voice, character, and witness.

She writes, “We were being asked to trust, to leave the planning to God.  God’s ultimate plan was as far beyond our imagination as the oak tree is from the acorn’s imaginings.  The acorn does what it was made to do without pestering its Maker with questions about when and how and why.  We who have been given an intelligence and a will and a whole range of wants that can be set against the divine Pattern for Good are asked to believe Him.

[She continues] “We were given the chance to trust Him when He says to us, “If any man will let himself be lost for my sake, he will find his true self.”  When will we find it? We ask.  The answer is, Trust Me.  How will we find it? The answer again is, Trust Me.  Why must I let myself be lost? We persist.  The answer is, Look at the acorn and trust Me.”

I conclude with a beautiful passage from Philippians.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).  Because of her right relationship with God, through Christ, Elisabeth is now experiencing untold bliss in Heaven.  As a matter of fact, it’s so wonderful that Jesus actually called it “paradise” in Luke 23:43.

Kevin