Philips Jim Elliot was an American Christian missionary. He attempted to evangelize the Huaorani people who lived in Ecuador but unfortunately, he was one of the five missionaries who went to Operation and were killed. Jim is well known today in American Christian society for the noble deed he did, and his name is forever immortalized. Jim was born on 8 October 1927 in a family with strong Christian beliefs. Jim’s parents often encouraged him to ‘live for Christ’. Jim was a kid who was good with his academics and had exceptional oratory skill, for which his teachers often praised him.
In 1950 Jim began his training for his long-planned trip to meet the Quechua people; his goal was to introduce them to Christianity. He religiously learned their language and their ways of life. Though the Quechua people were brutal and were even called “Auca”, meaning savage, Jim visited these people along with other missionaries.
Elliot and other missionaries arrived in Ecuador on 21 February 1952, and after some weeks, they planned to visit Huaorani, but their plans didn’t go well as Huaorani attacked Elliot and four others. Jim’s body was found downstream by the river. Jim’s work was dedicated to Jesus Christ. Below are some of the best Jim Elliot Quotes.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
A man may possess things he needs as well as things he does not need. But a man who gives up his excess unessential things for important ones is doing the right things a person doing vice versa is a fool.
Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.
Jim believes in the greatness of lives and says that we must value every moment of it. The things you believe God has sent for you must be done with a dedicated mind and soul with all our potential.
Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.
Jim has always been the man of God since his parents evangelized him. He always believed in the greatness of God and thought that he is so ordinary as compared to God. And even when he knew such great almighty, he is still so ordinary.
Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living.
Humans often long for things. Most humans always have more desires in them. They are conquered by their earthly desires and forget to live. They long for things and think that these things will make them happy, but their happiness always remains in the future.
God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him.
God always chooses the best for us. Sometimes we think that the thing is best for us, but it ends up being a terrible thing for us. But when we leave the choice up to God and surrender to his infinite grace, the best possibility is chosen for us by the great almighty.
Continue reading some more Jim Elliot Quotes...
Lord, give me firmness without hardness, steadfastness without dogmatism, love without weakness.
A plethora of human qualities exist within a human. But some qualities are good, and some are bad. Good qualities with arrogance also become bad qualities. Like being firm becomes harsh. Being determined becomes arrogant and being in toxic love turns us weak. But Jim wants that good quality must only prevail, and bad traits must vanish.
Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!
A man who knows God and believes in him is often a happy person as that person rests assured and is optimistic, who also knows that Miracles exist in the world of God. Jim feels grateful that he knows such a boundless entity. He’s happy that he knows God.
The will of God is always a bigger thing than we bargain for, but we must believe that whatever it involves, it is good, acceptable and perfect.
A man must believe that whatever good or both happens with him is the will of God. And in the long term, it is always a good thing. Sometimes we ask for little, but we receive a ton by the grace of God. And we must always believe that the best for us is on the way.
Lord, make my way prosperous not that I achieve high station, but that my life be an exhibit to the value of knowing God.
Jim believes that the biggest mission a man can have is to make other people aware of the presence of God. He wants his own life to be an example of the believer in God.
It makes me boil when I think of the power we profess and the utter impotency of our action. Believers who know one-tenth as much as we do are doing one-hundred times more for God, with His blessing and our criticism. Oh if I could write it, preach it, say it, paint it, anything at all, if only God’s power would become known among us.
People sometimes do not believe in the power of their actions. And this thing Angers Jim to an extreme because humans have infinite potential that they do not realize. Sometimes people who have very little faith do a lot of work for God, and we who have more resolute faith can also work for God.
Few more Jim Elliot Quotes...
It’s hard to steer a parked car.
It is a difficult task to fill a cup that is already full. Similarly, a man who has formed his belief system finds it difficult to amend them. To change the way one has been taught to think is the hardest thing in the world.
If we are the sheep of His pasture, remember that sheep are headed for the altar.
Jim beliefs that one must sacrifice his life for God. And he did the same. He lived up to his own words and died for his faith. Jim metaphorically says that if we are sheep, we consume the pasture given by God and are later lead to an Altar where the sheep must sacrifice their lives for God.
I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you Lord Jesus.
There is a difference between having a long life and a good one. Time does not determine the quality of our life. Jim does not want a long life fulfilled with his earthly desires but a holy one, like Jesus.
The shiny paint laid on by curiosity’s hand has worn off. What thing better can a man know than the love of Christ, which passes knowledge?
A man is a very curious creature. He has always tried to find out answers to his problems. But curiosity often leaves human minds after a while but what stays is the holy knowledge of God.
When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die.
It is a famous saying that goes by ‘many people with music it them’. It means that many people still have a lot to do but die with things undone. Jim urges people to do whatever they want and die with their wishes fulfilled.
Some more Jim Elliot Quotes...
That saint who advances on his knees never retreats.
A saint who gives everything he has for the sake of faith and for the sake of God is the one who wins. He is a true saint and has lived up to the expectations of God.
Why do you need a voice when you have a verse.
Humans are often confused by their inner voice telling them to do things and verses telling them to do another. But Jim believes that humans shouldn’t think too much and do whatever is written in their holy books as that is the ultimate truth.
I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the lord. I must rather response to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not.
Mood often determines what we end up doing. We sometimes even avoid important things just because we are not in the right mood for the thing. However, Jim says that he will not let his mind and wishes control him, but he will do the work of God, knowing that the work of God is always the right thing to do even I’m in a bad mood.
Wherever you are – be all there.
It is often said that be present in the moment. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we must have complete attention and focus on it. It is of no use if we are only half attentive. We must always give our all to whatever deed we are performing.
