Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday February 23, 2006

Jim Elliot, martyr slain in Ecuador in 1956 said some very good things and they live on through the writings of his widow and heroine, Elizabeth. One of Jim's gems is the following:

"Wherever you are, be all there."

To get further insight into what Jim meant, think on this instruction given by Circus great, Gunther Gebel-Williams to his son who followed in Gunther's footsteps as an animal trainer:

"I told him to be there."

Gunther explains: "When he is in the ring with lions, tigers and leopards, he can't be somewhere else. He must never let his mind wander. He must be in the ring mentally."

All successful people in any field pay homage to the truth that intense, focused concentration on the thing at hand right now is essential to achievement above the ordinary.

To be there is essential. This time the emphasis is on dependability. To train lions you have to show up. To win a tribe of primitive Auca Indians to Christ, you have to show up. We all know unusually talented people who never scratch the surface of their potential due to a failure to show up, thus negating their talent.

I recall trying to help a very talented friend to get the opportunity of a lifetime. I had the representative from a large Christian organization to perform a concert at our church. They were looking for a person with the talent that I knew my friend possessed. I arranged for said friend to warm up the gathered throng with a brief performance of his particular virtuosity. He never performed worse in his life. Something happened prior to his appearance and he was so mad/angry/po that the hostility came right through his performance and overshadowed his true ability. The man whom I had talked into permitting this mini concert said to me, "Dr. Lilly, not in a million years. I can hire people all day long with equal talent who also cannot control their emotions and fail to be focused on the task at hand with their heart. I know you meant well."

I think this is what Jim Elliot and Gunther Gebel-Williams meant. Be All THERE.

James had this in mind when he wrote, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8.

It is a good practice to accept the duty of life as an audition for better things and as the scripture says in Ecclesiastes 9:10, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;"

Now you know where Jim and Gunther found the secret for greatness.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2006 Use with credit.

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