Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of
me. Matthew 10:38
Helen Roseveare was an elderly missionary to Congo, Africa when I was still
very young. I remember her holding the audience of ten thousand university
students spell-bound and then in tears at Urbana ’76. Her life story is a
testimony to the grace of God portrayed in the 1989 movie, Mama Luka Comes
Home.
She is often asked by young people what she suffered for Jesus. Her simple
answer is, “During the Simba uprising in the Congo, I was raped twice.
Government soldiers came to my bungalow, ransacked it, and then grabbed me. I
was beaten and savagely kicked, losing my back teeth through the boot of a rebel
soldier. They broke my glasses, so I could not see to protect myself from the
next blow.
“Then one at a time, two army officers took me to my own bedroom and raped
me. They dragged me out into a clearing, tied me to a tree, and stood around
laughing. And while I was there, beaten and humiliated and violated, someone
brought out the only existing hand-written manuscript of a book I had been
writing about God’s work in the Congo over an eleven-year period. They put it on
the ground in front of me and burned it.
“I asked myself, Was it worth it? Eleven years of my life poured out in
selfless service for the African people and now this? The minute I expressed
that, God’s Holy Spirit settled over that terrible scene and He began to speak
to me.”
‘“My daughter, the question is not “Is it worth it?” The question is,
“Am I worthy?” Am I, the Lord Jesus who gave His life for you, worthy for
you to make this kind of sacrifice for Me.’ And God broke my heart,” Helen
continues. “I looked up and I said, ‘Oh Lord Jesus, yes, it is worth it, for You
are worthy!’” She concludes, “When you ask the right question, you’ll always
know that He is absolutely worthy of anything you can give Him or do for
Him!”
Phil Callaway of SERVANT magazine once asked her, “Did you ever
struggle to forgive those men?”
“No,” she replied. “There was no sense of bitterness or even anger. I was
overwhelmed by the sense that God was graciously using me in His purpose. All He
asked of me was the loan of my body. The consequences were His. A year later
when I returned to Congo and met the man who had humiliated me, I realized that
I did carry some resentment and I wasn’t sure I had forgiven him. But God led me
to accept from Him the forgiveness that only God can give, and He gave me His
peace again.”[1]
Helen returned to Congo after all the above and continued her life of service
for Jesus among the African people.
RESPONSE: Today I will ask the right question, “Is Jesus worthy of the
sacrifices He asks me to make?” Then I will answer affirmatively and take up my
cross and follow Him!
PRAYER: Thank You Lord for the wonderful trophies of grace, like Helen
Rosevere, who encourage us in our walk with You who are truly worthy.
1. Phil Callaway, “Is it worth it?” Servant (Issue 85, 2010),
p.11.
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