Dear Elliot,
We are so thankful to have you with us. You are a joy and a delight already.
Why did Daddy and I choose Elliot for your name? Two big
reasons and one little one.
First, Elliot means “The LORD is my God” (or “my God is
Yahweh”). There is no greater desire or prayer that we have for you than this,
my little son. May our Lord be your God, your Savior, your Delight and Shepherd
and Friend. If you have the one true God as your God, you have everything. If
you have committed your way to the God who is I AM, the God who makes and keeps
all His promises to His people, the God who is above all gods, then you have
true life.
Our second reason for the name Elliot is our heroes Jim
and Elisabeth Elliot. (Incidentally, it was during the months I was pregnant
with you that Elisabeth finished her race and went to be with Jesus.) The
Elliots were missionaries to South America, hoping to reach a tribe that had
never heard about Jesus. In one of the earliest efforts to make contact with
the tribe, Jim, along with 4 other missionary men, was killed by the people he
was hoping to reach. But what looked like a tragic, hopeless calamity God
turned for amazing good. Elisabeth and their little daughter Valerie later went
and lived with that same tribe, translating God’s Word into their language, and
in time God brought many of those people to trust in Jesus. In fact, the very
ones who killed Jim and the other men were some of those who became joyful
followers of Jesus.
And the third (littler) reason for Elliot is that Daddy
and I both lived on Elliot Ave when we met, just a few blocks apart, on
opposite sides of I-94.
So, little Elliot, may the LORD be your God, now and
always. May you worship Him for His perfect faithfulness, sovereignty,
holiness, and love. May your life be one spent pursuing the greatest things,
for “he is no fool if he should give what he can never keep to gain what he can
never lose” (J. Elliot). And may the God above all gods grant His great love to
you because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus on your behalf and
fill your days with grace.
How we love you, little son.
Momma and Daddy
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