Elisabeth – She Is A Pioneer

Elisabeth Elliot
1926 – 2015

I first heard Elisabeth Elliot speak when I was 15 years old. I was captivated by her story of living in the jungles of Ecuador amongst a tribe of Auca Indians who only months earlier had killed her husband Jim Elliot and four other missionaries. Rather than returning home to the USA she and her 10-month-old daughter remained in the jungle, living out the gospel of grace and forgiveness that they had been preaching.

‘When my husband was killed by Indians, I found myself in some indefinable positions. There wasn’t one missionary man left in Ecuador who spoke the jungle Quichua language. There was no one to teach the young Quichua believers, no one to lead the church, no one but women to carry on where five missionary men had left off.

The door to the Auca tribe had slammed shut for those men and was, to our astonishment, opened to two women. It didn’t look to me like a woman’s job. But God’s categories are not always ours…But it is the same faithful Lord who calls me by name and never loses track of my goings and reminds me in a still, small voice,

“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord.
“You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
And understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God—
There never has been, and there never will be.”
Is. 43:10

There is our primary responsibility: to know him. I can’t be a witness unless I’ve seen something, unless I know what it is I am to testify to… Your education or lack of it, your tastes and prejudices and fears and status or ambitions, your age or sex or color or height or marital status or income bracket are all things which may be offered to God, after you have presented your bodies as a living sacrifice. And God knows exactly what to do with them. They are not obstacles if you hand them over.

The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.’

An accomplished author, teacher and radio broadcaster her life demonstrated a level of obedience and faith in God that continues to challenge me today. She embodies the spirit of ‘The She Is Project’, a woman whose life and legacy encourages and enlarges the lives of those around her.

Reference: www.christianitytoday.com
Photo: www.wholemagazine.org