Rachel Fralick - Blog #9: Student Choice 2

I often wonder how I would act in situations that demand fear and doubt. If I were Rachel Joy Scott on that April day in 1990 at Columbine High School, what would have gone through my mind as I was asked to publicly renounce my God or otherwise face death? Would I do it? Would I do what I could to prevent death and, instead, live a long life of regret? Would I have the courage to, then, as Mr. Scott did, begin a ministry in high schools across America openly proclaiming his faith to the same people who could have been responsible for killing his daughter? These things take courage. I often wonder, would I be that bold?

The End of the Spear is a film about five missionary men who picked up their lives and moved everything they knew, including their families, to the jungles of Souther Ecuador. The Waodani people of the Ecuadorian jungles were uncivilized people who saw killing as their means to conflict resolution. This true story was put in film form in order to show the depth of what these men and women went through in order to share their faith in hopes that they would see some of the Waodani people in heaven with them. Though the Waodani people brutally speared the five missionary men, the women and children that were left behind were just what the tribal people needed to be softened to the gospel.

It is extremely hard for me to try and imagine what it would be like to be faced with the thought of death but still putting other's above myself. One of the lines that I remember the most about the movie was when one of the main characters told his son that if the Waodani people attacked them, they would not use violence to protect themselves. He said that they are ready for death because they know they are heaven bound. The Waodani people, however, were not in the same place, therefore, they would simply have to let them kill them. What a picture of self sacrifice. Do I really believe that the Gospel that I preach is more powerful than death? Scripture asks the question, “death, where is your victory?” Do I believe that death has no power over me, or do I give in to what my flesh tells me and protect my physical body?? It is scary to think that if I were placed in a situation such as one that Rachel Joy Scott and the five missionary men in southern Ecuador what I would do. I would hope, beyond anything, that I would remain faithful. I would hope that my God is real enough to me that I trust in His ultimate plan, even if that involves my life quickly ending in death. I would love to emulate these Chiristan models who trusted the Lord with their lives and their futures more than they trusted themselves with the same thing.