As I've continued to read, I have now been introduced to Nate Saint. Although familiar with him from the movie End of the Spear, I am even more impressed by the picture Elisabeth Elliot paints of him and the quotes she includes from his diaries.
In Chapter V, she talks of his inventions, improvements, and adjustments to his plane in order to more excellently fulfill his mission of delivering needed supplies to missionaries in the jungle. On page 60 she writes:
"Every ounce counted in a plane of this type. When Nate found that the streamlined wheel covers were collecting mud, he took them off. Characteristically, Nate turned this to spiritual illustration: 'When life's flight is over, and we unload our cargo at the other end, the fellow who got rid of the unnecessary weight will have the most valuable cargo to present to the Lord.' "
What a challenge to me! Am I faithfully, consistently, persistently, and dilligently, working to rid myself of "unnecessary weight" so that I can carry the "most valuable cargo" for the Lord? In Colossians 3, Paul instructs us to "put...aside anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth."(verse 8) and to "put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love,..."(verses 12-14). The verses which follow are also full of instruction of how we should lives as those "who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved." This is the kind of cargo we should be accumulating, not the kind that weighs us down and prevents us from serving the Lord with our whole being. (I'd encourage you to take a few minutes and read the entire chapter, it's full of good meat.)
So, that's my challenge today. Put off and put on. Be persistent in searching out every part of myself and my life to see where I've put on a little weight that needs to be purged. (And I'm not talking about fitting my jeans better, although that wouldn't be such a bad thing either!  )
Have a great day! God bless! |
