Love Above Life...

Saw an amazing documentary called 'Beyond the Gates of Splendor'- true story of 5 men who go to spread the Gospel in the wild jungles of South America. There, a tribe of murdering savages lives & dies by the spear. They are greatly feared! To this day, their violence is unmatched in recorded history. If a man was speared and dying, he could demand his wife to kill each of their children and throw them in the grave with him. Men would spear & drown their own wives and children. Meanwhile just 20 miles away are 5 missionary families who learn the 'lost' Auca tribe has never heard the name of Jesus. The Auca have no idea how greatly God loves them. They only know hatred and mistreatment. So these brave young men in their 20's leave their wives & little ones behind to fly a plane over the jungle and drop gifts for the Auca. Eventually, the grateful Auca's place gifts in the basket in return for the kindness they've been shown. The missionaries decide it's time for face-to-face contact, land the plane and have a friendly encounter with 3 tribe members. But the very next day, due to a terrible misunderstanding, when the missionaries return, a group of angry natives spear all 5 men & hack up the plane with machete. You see, though armed, the missionaries would not use force against the Aucas saying, "We are ready for Heaven and they are not." One by one those dedicated men fell. Loved ones were left to grieve. But instead of hating the Aucas for what they did, one determined wife (Elisabeth Elliot) took her young daughter into the jungle to live with the Auca tribe and teach them a better way. The tribe adopted them, later accepted the Gospel of Peace and were baptized. There's a time for war, but I believe it's possible to love so greatly you'd rather die than kill. Jesus certainly demonstrated this. I certainly wouldn't take a beating I didn't deserve if I had the powers Christ had. With one word He could've killed everyone involved in His trial, scourging and crucifixion, but bleeding on a cross He said, "Father forgive them, Father forgive...." This is the kind of love I desire in my heart.