After being inspired by the book “Jungle Pilot,” I eagerly read Elizabeth Elliot’s “Through Gates of Splendor.” This powerful biography chronicles the lives and ultimate sacrifice of five American missionaries, including Elliot’s husband Jim, in the jungles of Ecuador.
One particular journal entry by Jim Elliot, dated October 28, 1949, has served as a constant source of encouragement throughout my own missionary journey. He wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” These profound words capture the eternal perspective that fueled Elliot and his companions’ unwavering commitment.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Jim Elliot
Published in 1957, “Through Gates of Splendor” details the mission of these five men to make contact with the Waodani tribe, a previously isolated and unreached people group known for their violent opposition to outsiders. With gripping narrative, Elliot brings to life the spiritual depth and singular dedication of these missionaries as they endeavored to establish relations and share the gospel with this remote indigenous community.
Their efforts culminated in their martyrdom on January 8, 1956, when they were speared to death by the very Waodani they hoped to reach with the good news of Jesus Christ. Their story of supreme sacrifice has reverberated across the ensuing decades, inspiring countless missionaries to take the life-giving message of salvation to those who have never heard.
As I read this account as a young man, I found myself deeply impacted by the unwavering faith and mission-minded abandonment of these five missionaries. Their willingness to pour out their lives for the sake of the unreached motivates in me a passion to live with that same eternal perspective.
Zambia Hunt 
Leave a comment