A Divine Kick in the Pants: Jim Elliot and the Call to Go Out

Sometimes God just kicks you in the pants and wakes you up. Here is one of those moments. Jim Elliot was a missionary who was killed while trying to reach a people group who had never heard of the gospel. His story is told in a number of books, movies (like "End of the Spear" which I highly recommend) and documentaries (like "Beyond the Gates of Splendor" which I also highly recommend).

Here is what he said:

Our young men are going into the professional fields because they don't 'feel called' to the mission field. We don't need a call; we need a kick in the pants. We must begin thinking in terms of 'going out,' and stop our weeping because 'they won't come in.' Who wants to step into an igloo? The tombs themselves are not colder than the churches. May God send us forth.

Amen! We should go out rather than expect them to come in. This is exactly what Paul says about the local church (Ephesians 4:12). The primary responsibility of the local church is to train believers for the purpose of going out into the world to reach the lost. Those reached then come to the church to be trained and sent out. Let Jim Elliots words ring in our ears tonight.

Sometimes we just need a Divine kick in the pants.

H/T: Between Two Worlds