"Shadow of the Almighty"

So, I've been inspired by my friend Allison to read more books! I'm not quite as ambitious as she is (365 books in a year!) but I will strive for something. And as I do, to put down my thoughts concerning these books, because some of them are just amazing! And some not so amazing...so I will tell you what I think. And just maybe you will be inspired to read them too! So here's my first book review. And feel free to comment if you've any thoughts about it as well.

A Review of:
Shadow of the Almighty
the Life and Testament of Jim Elliot
by Elisabeth Elliot

You know those books that are so bent, dog-eared and scribbled with ink that it's rather difficult to tell what book it was in the first place? Well this book, for me, is one of them! Seriously, it was amazing. One of those books that, as I read, I longed to absorb every bit of it. I have gone back to its ink-stained pages so many times since putting it down that I can’t really say I’ve “put it down” at all, it’s been with me almost constantly ever since!

But what draws me to it so? What brings me back to its pages so many times, eagerly sharing bits of it with others as I do?

Is it the writing style? Not really. The content is almost entirely taken from the letters and journals of Jim Elliot, with only a bit of commentary by Elisabeth Elliot. It hasn’t been edited, certainly wasn’t intended for publication when it was written, and consequently isn't the most thrilling read. It’s simply his life, plainly told midst thoughtful ramblings of ideals, dreams, longings. fears and everyday life.

And yet his wasn’t really even a fantastic life, either. For a long time I had only known of Jim Elliot by means of Elisabeth’s testimony in “Passion and Purity”, and I must admit that after seeing it more behind his eyes I’m rather less impressed with his “ideals” than I was before...it’s clear to see from this book that he was by no means perfect.

So what is it? It’s not a great literary achievement. It’s just the simple story of a life; and not a terribly impressive life at that.

But maybe that’s what makes this book so amazing to me! The smallness of it. The simplicity, inadequacy and brevity of a life made beautiful by no reason other than that it was lived and lost for Christ.

Towards the end of his life, he wrote:

“Father, with happy committal I give you my life again this morning- not for anything special, simply to let you know that I regard it as yours. Do with it as it pleases you, only give me great grace to do for the glory of Christ Jesus whatever comes to me, ‘in sickness and in health’."

It’s not that he didn’t long for “anything special”…in fact he wrote this after expressing his deep desire for children, for a family. He was ambitious, visionary; yet he understood that even if none of his ambitions came about, if all his visions fade to black and every dream be crushed, ‘in sickness and in health”, his life was Gods, and that was enough.

Even at the end of his life he seemed to sense that everything might be whisked away in a moment, and yet it wouldn’t matter! The smallness or the bigness of his life didn’t matter to him, so long as Christ was glorified. This is reflected in one powerful section when he says:

“Failure means nothing now, only that it taught me life. Success is meaningless,
only that it gave me greater experience in using the great gift of God, life.
And life, I love thee. Not because thou art long, or because thou hast done
great things for me, but simply because I have thee from God.”

I love that. It’s what’s so powerful about this book, I think. It’s simply the words of a man who was often prideful (as I can be) and many other things- but who sought and learned throughout his life that to die is to live. And not just on that final day, when our last breath turns cold, but every other day before that waking up with the realization that Christ is enough.

It’s not the fact that he was a martyr that made him great. It’s not that he was a missionary that made him great. In fact, he wasn’t great at all! None of us are. Christ is all the greatness in our lives and this book is a testament to that. Perhaps that’s why I love it so. It reveals the absurdity of counting anything as worthy of our devotion and of our lives other than Jesus. Many people hail Jim Elliot for his martyrdom. In the preface, however, Elizabeth Elliot poses this question:

“Is the distinction between living for Christ and dying for him, after all, so great? Is not the second the logical conclusion of the first? Furthermore, to live for God is to die, ‘daily’, as the apostle Paul put it. It is to lose everything that we may gain Christ. It is in this laying down our lives that we may find them.”

Jim Elliot lost his life in the end, but that really wasn’t the climax. All throughout his life he had been losing it already, in exchange for something far greater- Christ.

So let us strive to die! To wake up every morning with the fresh realization that everything is a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.

And if you get a chance to read this book, please do! It’s well worth it.