Elisabeth Elliot died last week in Massachusetts. She had studied at Wheaton College, learning Greek in hopes of becoming a Bible translator. At Wheaton she met Jim Elliot, they developed an interest in the Waorani tribe in remote Ecuador, and they married in 1953. In January, 1956, Mr. Elliot with four other missionaries landed in Ecuador and established a camp on the Curaray River. Their first contact with the Waorani was friendly but something went wrong and the missionaries were massacred. Now comes the compelling part of the story. In 1958 Mrs. Elliot, with her 3-year-old daughter and the widow of one of the other missionaries, went to Ecuador and moved in with the Waorani. She stayed until 1963 when she moved to New Hampshire. (New York Times, June 21; 20)
It’s a rare moment when the media focuses on Christians in a positive way but they did when the families of the Charleston victims forgave Dylann Roof. “I forgive you, my family forgives you. We would like you to take this opportunity to repent,” said Anthony Thompson. Alana Simmons said, “Although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate, this is proof – everyone’s plea for your soul is proof they lived in love and their legacies will live in love, so hate won’t win. And I just want to thank the court for making sure that hate doesn’t win.” (AP in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 20; A1, 4)
Those two stories reveal much about the heart of the Christian message, that God in Christ forgives us and we therefore forgive others. No apologies were required; they simply forgave, certainly enabled by the Spirit of Christ. The judicial system still does its public duty, but their forgiveness is personal, releasing the person wronged from bondage to hate. As Christ’s forgiving love releases us from bondage to hate and personal retribution, love also prompts concern for the evil-doer. And forgiveness is more than words; it prompts to action. For Mrs. Elliot that was returning to Ecuador and in Charleston it was confronting Dylann Roof. What is it in your life? How compelling is Christ in you?
Comments