"He is no fool..."

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

What an incredible statement. This came from a man named Jim Elliot. Jim Elliot was speared to death, along with 4 of his friends, in the jungles of Ecuador, by people from the Waodani Indian tribe. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Flemming, and Roger Youderian were five young guys, fresh out of college that all followed God's call to missionary service in Ecuador. These guys were not the proverbial "super saints". They were regular ordinary guys...newly married, loved to laugh and have fun, looking for significance and adventure, and obviously mortal. They were not super heroes fighting evil and able to make a comeback no matter how many times they seem to be killed. There was nothing about them that made them special or extraordinary. At least not anymore so than anyone else...except for one thing. These guys were willing to follow God, WHEREVER He led them to go. They understood what Paul was saying in Philippians 1:21 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain". They were not seeking to be killed and escape this world. They were seeking to truly live in this world and they knew that the only way to truly live was to truly be following Christ...wherever He led, doing whatever He commanded. That is the stuff of true heroes.
The lives which they offered eventually led to the salvation of nearly the entire Waodani people group. Jim Elliot's wife and Nate saint's sister later went into this tribe and were able to share the truth of Christ with them and completely revolutionize this people group. These 5 men truly lived Christ...and their death was gain for the Kingdom of God.