No Fool

One quote I have appreciated for many years was penned by Jim Elliot on 28th October 1949. He wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

I think I first came across that quote in the early 1980s. Shortly afterwards I bought a copy of The Journals of Jim Elliot compiled by his widow Elisabeth Elliot but have only managed to read a relatively small portion of that work.

The quote so beautifully and succinctly sums up Jim’s understanding of the Gospel and highlights his willingness to give up his life taking that Gospel to an unreached people in Ecuador.

I was somewhat surprised during the past week to come across very similar words in Sinclair Ferguson’s Dawn of Redeeming Grace in chapter 19. In that work Sinclair refers to Matthew Henry quoting his father, Rev. Philip Henry who said “He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose.”¹

I haven’t come across similar quotes elsewhere, but I’m sure they exist. I would envisage that Jim Elliot had perhaps come across the quote from Matthew Henry and adopted it for himself.

Whether Philip Henry or Jim Elliot, the quote is a powerful summary of the nature, cost and benefits of the Gospel.