What shall be said of us?

I made a resolution one year ago to try to read the entire Bible by today.  I accomplished my goal in that I did attempt to read the entire Bible, though I hit a “dry spell” shortly after Nathan’s birth and skipped over many of the OT prophetical books.  My heart is full of thankfulness, however, because I’ve read more in the past year than I have since I graduated from college – not only more of the Bible, but more commentaries and nonfiction Christian books – and God has used my reading to stimulate my mind and my desire to know Him more fully.  “The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves he has no brains of his own” (Charles Spurgeon).

Lately I have been reading many of Elisabeth Elliot’s works.  Just this morning I began Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot.  Jim’s writings reveal a man who passionately, sincerely - extraordinarily? - loved the Lord, and Elisabeth’s books are full of quotable passages.  Here is a selection from the preface that struck me:

“Those who want to know Him must walk the same path with Him. These are the “martyrs” in the Scriptural sense of the word, which mean simply “witnesses.”  In life, as well as in death, we are called to be “witnesses” – to “bear the stamp of Christ” [I John 2:3-6].  I believe that Jim Elliot was one of these.  His letters and journals are the tangible ground for my belief…That are a part of the human story, the story of a man in his relation to the Almighty…Was it [Jim’s life] extraordinary?  I offer these pages so that the reader may decide for himself.  If his answer is yes – if he finds herein the “stamp of Christ,” and decides that this is extraordinary – what shall we say of the state of Christendom?”

Indeed, what shall be said of us?