Changed
June 2004
One morning before my husband left
for work, he stopped at the bedside
where I was still tucked underneath
the covers and gave me a kiss good-bye.
He said that he had an invitation
to some type of luncheon that day
and asked me to attend with him. I
had nothing planned that day, so I
agreed to go. I'm not one to turn
down free food! My husband only knew
for certain that the luncheon had
something to do with the opening of
a new movie. I was less intrigued
by the nature of the event than by
the prospect of having a delightful
lunch with my husband. Little did
I know what the day held for me.
I arrived at the Mansion Hotel in
Dallas a little before noon and went
inside to find seats. Immediately
I was struck by the awesome beauty,
not only of the exquisite room but
also of the extraordinary decorations
for the luncheon. For this event,
the room had been transformed into
the rainforests of Ecuador. Huge palm
branches on the tables served as placemats,
and tall plants were centerpieces.
All around the room were enormous
plants and huge, black and white photographs
of people I didn't recognize. This
event was growing more and more intriguing
by the moment.
As we took our seats, I looked at
the materials at each person's seat.
One of the items was a replica of
an issue of Life from 1956. The article
recounted the brutal killings of five
missionaries who had gone to evangelize
the Auca Indians in Ecuador. The most
famous of the missionaries was Jim
Elliot. I had heard of Jim Elliot
all of my life, and his and his wife
Elizabeth's ministry had always been
an immense blessing to me. Now here
I was sitting at an intimate luncheon
to discuss the making of the movie
about this historic event.
The luncheon was absolutely incredible.
Although those who provided the luncheon
did so with the intent of raising
money to help fund a feature film
about the men's story, I was the one
who left spiritually richer. A man
named Steve Saint, the host of the
luncheon, told us that his father,
Nate Saint, was one of the missionaries
who died that fateful day of January
8, 1956. Steve was a young child when
his father was martyred for the cause
of Christ in Ecuador. Nate, Jim, and
several others had tried for some
time to make peace with the savage
Auca Indians, and when they thought
they had built a strong enough relationship
to make physical contact, they flew
in and camped near the Auca village.
Although the missionaries were encouraged
by the initial visits with the Aucas,
events took a terrible turn. An Auca
war party attacked the camp by surprise,
and all five missionaries were speared
to death. Steve Saint, now a grown
man, stood before us and told us how
proud he was of his father's willingness
to serve the Lord, even though it
cost him his very life. Steve made
it clear that although he missed his
father sorely, he was proud to have
a legacy of a daddy who was willing
to lay down everything to serve the
Lord. He declared that he would rather
have a father who died serving Christ
than one who was still living but
had no knowledge of Christ.
At this point, Steve called to the
stage an Indian man known simply as
"Grandfather." This primitive
Auca Indian walked to the stage and
draped his arm around Steve's shoulders.
Steve wrapped his arm around Grandfather's
shoulders. They stood side by side,
enveloped in each other's arms as
if they were the best of friends.
Grandfather began to speak to us in
his native language. Steve provided
the English words to translate what
this man, clad in his native garb,
was saying to us. Grandfather looked
at us intently and said something
that left us breathless. "I am
one of the men who killed Jim, Nate,
and his friends that day in 1956.
But since that time, I have come to
follow God's carvings. We have learned
His markings now, and we follow His
trails."
My heart skipped a beat as I realized
the magnitude of what he had said.
This man had killed the messengers
of God, and now here he was standing
before us, embracing the son of his
victim to tell us that he was a changed
man! Together these two men were working
to tell the story of how God had worked
and is still working all things together
for His ultimate good. The tears welled
up in my eyes and in the eyes of those
around me to see this simple man and
his newfound love for the Lord. God
had taken the self-described "savage"
and, through His grace, had changed
his and his fellow tribesmen's hearts.
The missionaries who willingly surrendered
all for the sake of Christ fifty years
ago never knew the ripple effect that
has taken place in the jungles of
Ecuador.
Grandfather said that he and his tribesmen
had heard of the massacre that took
place at Littleton, Colorado's Columbine
High School on April 20, 1999. His
tribe had heard of how those young
boys killed the other students. He
said that when he and his fellow tribesman
heard this news they thought to themselves,
"We used to be savages like that
too before we came to know Jesus.
We too killed each other and had no
regard for human life until we can
to follow Him!"
Grandfather continued by saying that
a group of American students had once
come to Ecuador to do a story on the
savage Auca Indians. After the students
had spent some time with them, one
student had a quizzical expression
on his face. He stood back and asked,
"Where are the savages that we
are supposed to be doing this story
on"? Grandfather had to convince
the young man that they were indeed
the savages that the young people
had come to see. The students were
amazed that the Indians were not anything
like what they had expected. They
were no longer killing each other
and living in a state of chaos. Grandfather
expressed to us how unsettling it
was to him that these students were
amazed at their transformed lives.
Isn't that what the power of God is
supposed to do; transform your life?
These students came from a culture
that has so much theology, so many
churches, and so many Christian radio
stations and bookstores. They have
easy access to many manuscripts of
the Bible and more Christian conferences
than one person could ever attend.
Yet these American students revealed
their lack of understanding of a crucial
truth: the power of God should transform
a life!
The Bible clearly states that it is
possible to be "always learning
but never able to acknowledge the
truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). What
good are Christian programs, seminars,
and institutions if those who participate
in them are not radically transformed
by them? I fear that one of the downfalls
of our highly advanced society is
that we have become too educated and
astute to recognize that we have not
reached the knowledge of the Truth.
And that Truth is that Jesus' death
means more than just your salvation
and privilege to enter into eternity.
It also means that the same power
that raised Jesus is available to
enable you to live a victorious Christian
life while you are here in history!
Those students had to go to the "savage"
Indians of Ecuador to be reminded
of what the power of God is supposed
to look like when it radically infiltrates
and changes someone's life. And on
this sunny day in Dallas, at one of
the wealthiest hotels in the city,
an Indian man with no education and
no material wealth stood before a
group of well-to-do Americans. As
we ate our finely catered lobster
lunch, he basically said to us, "You
are the savages. We know Jesus, and
we have been changed!"
That day, I sat next to young and
old, wealthy and poor, white, black
and everything in between, yet we
all cried the same tears of conviction.
We were all challenged by the Holy
Spirit, and we realized that indeed
we were the savages. When we took
a close look at ourselves, we saw
that we look too similar to the world
and its standards. Sometimes we are
so busy imitating the world that we
are missing out on God's call for
us to "come out from them and
be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17).
When we meet Jesus, we should change.
We are not supposed to act the same
anymore. There should be a distinct
difference in us after coming face
to face with the Almighty Savior.
Our priorities, our mindset, and our
lifestyle as a whole should be noticeably
different now that we have a new Master.
Your co-workers should notice the
difference.
Your neighbor's children should notice
the difference.
Your unsaved spouse should notice
the difference.
Your family members should notice
the difference.
Your students should notice.
Your clients should notice.
Strangers should notice!
All humankind should know that there
is something different about you.
You shouldn't be just like everyone
else. You should no longer fit comfortably
into the mold of this world. You are
no longer a savage. You should be
a little peculiar. There should be
some things that you have to let go
of, with the hope and certainty that
even though you can?t see the end
product, God's picture and His plan
are bigger and greater than anything
you could ever imagine. These changes
will only come about if you and I
get our minds off of what we want
and fill them with what He wants for
us. That is not always easy, my friend,
but it is worth it, because that is
where we find true freedom.
The Holy Spirit's soothing yet convicting
voice has begun to challenge. He has
called me by name and commanded me
to be all that the Father expects
of me. I can no longer acquiesce to
the standards set by the masses or
measure my progress in holiness by
what I see in others, but only by
the standards set by the Word of God.
After all that Jesus did for us on
Calvary and as a result of what He
continues to do on our behalf daily,
we must not simply be encouraged,
inspired, comforted, or motivated
by His Word to us. We must be set
free; boldly unshackled and unashamed.
For all the world to see, we must
be changed!
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Excerpt taken from Priscilla's book,
And We Are Changed.
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