“If we could just see the world the way Jesus sees it.”
This was a message stressed by Grace Fabian when she visited Corban last Wednesday.
Grace Fabian, in case you didn’t get the privilege to hear her speak, is an author and Wycliffe Bible Translator. She shared an incredible testimony in chapel bringing more than one to the verge of tears.
Fabian spent 35 years in Papua New Guinea learning the language and creating an alphabet in order to translate the New Testament for the Nabak people. Shortly before it was completed, her husband, Edmund, was murdered while translating 1 Corinthians 13. With God by her side, Fabian was able to have the strength and determination to finish what her husband had dedicated most of his life to.
Alongside her four children and several Nabak men and women, Fabian completed the translation in 1998. The land rejoiced when the beautiful copies of the Nabak New Testament were lifted into the air and dedicated to God.
Grace Fabian’s chapel testimony was compelling and inspiring and left her listeners wanting more. And more is what she gave us.
That evening, Fabian shared a different, yet equally moving message. And this time, the tears couldn’t be held in and they ran down like waterfalls. At least, mine certainly did.
This message, while still being connected to her testimony, emphasized the importance of surrendering completely to God and His will. She shared the story of William Borden, a young millionaire who spent his short life dedicated to the mission field. He lived by his motto of “No Reserves, No Retreats”, a phrase he had written in his Bible. The world considered his life a sacrifice for nothing and a waste when he died at the age of 25. But in his Bible, Borden had written two final words prior to his death: “No Regrets.”
“You have to die to live,” said Fabian. “If you’re not finding peace and satisfaction with your life, maybe it’s because you haven’t given up everything for God.”
After making that thought-provoking statement, Fabian then asked a question that’s been going through my head since I heard her say it: “What would you write in your Bible if you only had a few hours to live?”
So what would we write? Have we been living a life that is completely dedicated and surrendered to the Lord?
Like Fabian said in her message, the pursuit of the American people is “what can make me happy?” People spend their entire lives searching for happiness by their own means and by their own hands. But that happiness that we all crave can only be obtained through the Lord.
Matthew 16:24-25 says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’”
Hearing this incredible woman share her story has truly made me step back and reflect on what I’m doing in my own life. I realize that I spend way too much time pursuing what I want and what I desire. Everything I want and desire should only be to want what the Lord has in store for me. In ten, twenty, fifty years from now, I want to look back at my life and not be disappointed. I want to have lived a life for God full of No Reserves, No Retreats and No Regrets.
If you are interested in learning more about Grace Fabian, visit her website.