![]() ![]() ![]() “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. But aside from presenting a false historical narrative, aren’t they the sweetest little things you’ve ever seen? What if I told you that for much of Christian history the idea of having an artistic or graven representation of Christ would have been considered a sin? So then, let’s look at both the Bible and history to inform our judgment. I hung my head and sighed.Īren’t nativity sets relatively harmless? I mean sure, they’re historically inaccurate, what with the wise men and shepherds all in one place at Christ’s birth. Getting into our van to leave, another missionary stopped to go into the icon shop and buy a nativity set for his wife as a souvenir. I went into a nearby icon shop to buy a Virgin Mary idol to break on the front steps of the cathedral in order to get their attention, but my interpreter explained they would kill me and successfully pled with me to leave the shop. I was once preaching outside the Catedral da Sé de São Paulo in Brazil, exhorting the worshippers to forsake their graven images and believe the Gospel. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.If you like the Christmas baby Jesus best, your home might be littered with Nativity sets. Any book that can accomplish that is well worth the read. In her writing we see, as she saw in Carmichael's, "that the chance to die, to be crucified with Christ, not a morbid thing, but the very gateway to Life." With an unanticipated ending, you'll be left, along with Margaret Sparhawk, wondering where God is in your struggles, what is true success, and how God operates. As I grew up I knew she could not have been perfect, and that was better, for it meant that I might possibly walk in her footprints." There are many who can say the same of Elliot herself. For a time, I suppose, I thought she must have been perfect. In the introduction to her biography of Amy Carmichael, Elliot wrote: "She showed me the shape of godliness. Through the specifics of Margaret's experience, Elliot shows something of what it means-for each of us-to take up a cross and follow Jesus. In clean, evocative prose, Elisabeth Elliot opens a window onto Ecuador, the high Andes, and the missionary vocation. Not the Ecuadorians, not the work, not her fellow missionaries. But from the beginning, nothing is as she pictured it. Full of enthusiasm and ideals, Margaret Sparhawk goes as a missionary to the Quichua people of Ecuador. Recommended reading for any Christian, this should be a "must read" for anyone considering mission's work. Lars Gren, Elisabeth's current husband, acknowledges that this is his favorite of all of her books. ![]() While this is a novel, and not autobiographical, she certainly drew from her own life-experience to create a realistic and moving adventure that raises many questions about missions work, and about what true faith really is. For over half a century, Elisabeth Elliot, has been one of the leading spokeswomen for a deep-seated commitment to Christ. ![]()
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