Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 9:37 AM
Dear members of the Lim Family,
Words are inadequate at such a time as this when our co-worker has been ushered into her eternal reward. Darleen and I [Sidney] served in both the Malaysia and Singapore Baptist Seminaries between 1964-1992. It was my privilege to have Lilian as a student during our time I n Singapore and it was a joy to always know she would go above and beyond what I expected of the class members.
We were living in Singapore in 1973 when my 85 year-old mother suddenly expired. We had already said our ‘good byes’ in 1971 during our last State Side Assignment. I will never forget what one of our missionaries wrote at that occasion. He made reference to Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” WOW, this gives eternal assurance and depth to those who have trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord.
July 28, 2008 I underwent a quadruple bypass surgery. At 81 years of age, I rested on the fact that I was in His hands and I was prepared if the surgery was not successful. Obviously our Lord has something more for me to do for Him with the days I have left on this earth.
Perhaps some of the entries in Jim Elliot’s diary would give you a perspective of one who was a martyr of the Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1955. His brother was our family physician in Portland, Oregon where I was earning my initial theological degree, M. Div. We have a son and his wife and three sons serving covertly in Central Asia as a linguist. He frequently faces opposition from the 99% Muslim community in Turkey. He realizes that hostility can erupt at any time among people who despise believers in Jesus. We praise God for the dozens of Turks who have become believers in several cities where churches have been established. Back to Jim Elliot; Darleen and I went to university with Roger Yudarian, whom we knew very well. He was martyred along with Jim. This we know for certain, God makes no mistakes regarding the longevity of life of His servants. Please meditate upon the Psalm verse already quoted and then reflect upon Jim’s diary entries:
* He is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliott (1949)
* One treasure, a single eye, and a sole master. Jim Elliott (1948)
* God, I pray thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus. Jim Elliott (1948)
* Father, take my life, yea, my blood if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mine to save. Have it Lord, have it all. Pour out my life as an oblation for the world. Blood is only of value as it flows before Thine altar. Jim Elliott (1948)
* Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame. But flame is often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul? Short life? In me there dwells the spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. 'Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.'" Jim Elliott (1948)
* Are we willing to build with a trowel in one hand, while the other grasps a sword?" Jim Elliott (1949)
* How few, how short these hours my heart must beat--then on, into the real world where the unseen becomes important." Jim Elliott (1948)
* As your life is in His hands, so are the days of your life. But don't let the sands of time get into the eye of your vision to reach those who sit in darkness. They simply must hear. Wives, houses, practices, education, must learn to be disciplined by this rule: 'Let the dead attend to the affairs of the already dead, go thou and attend the affairs of the dying'. Jim Elliott (1948)
* Overcoming anything in the confidence of your union with Him, so that contemplating trial, enduring persecution or loneliness, you may know the blessedness of the 'joy set before', for 'We are the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.' And what are sheep doing going into the gate? What is their purpose inside those courts? To bleat melodies and enjoy the company of the flock? No. Those sheep were headed for the altar. Their pasture feeding had been for one purpose: to test them and fatten them for bloody sacrifice. Give Him thanks, then, that you have been counted worthy of His altars. Enter into the work with praise. Jim Elliott (1949)
* (To his mother when his brother Bert sailed for Peru):
Remember -- and I don't mean to sound pedantic or impudent as if I knew all the costs --remember that we have bargained with Him who bore a Cross, and in His ministry to those disciples His emphasis was upon sacrifice, not of worldly goods so much as upon family ties. Let nothing turn us from the truth that God has determined that we become strong under fire, after the pattern of the Son. Nothing else will do. Jim Elliott (1949)
* I must not think it strange if God takes in youth those whom I would have kept on earth till they were older. God is peopling eternity, and I must not restrict Him to old men and women. Jim Elliott (1950)
* Only I know that my own life is full. It is time to die, for I have had all that a young man can have, at least all that this young man can have. I am ready to meet Jesus. Jim Elliott (December, 1951)
* Gave myself for Auca work more definitely than ever, asking for spiritual valor, plain and miraculous guidance. . . . Jim Elliott (May, 1952)
* The will of God is always a bigger thing than we bargain for. Jim Elliott (1952)
* Give me a faith that will take sufficient quiver out of me so that I may sing. Over the Aucas, Father, I want to sing! Jim Elliott (July 1952)
* know that my hopes and plans for myself could not be any better than He has arranged and fulfilled them. Thus may we all find it, and know the truth of the Word which says, "He will be our Guide even until death." Jim Elliot
These diary entries by Jim Elliot have gripped our hearts from the first time we read them. In the book “Shadow of the Almighty” written by his wife, Elizabeth Elliot. These entries could have been penned by Lilian—she embodied the single focus that Jim gave order to his less than 4 decades of his life.
In His tender grip,
Sidney P. Schmidt Ph.D. and Darleen Schmidt M.A.
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