The Spiritual Campaign
The war was closing in on the Christian missionaries of the Dutch East Indies. Dr. Robert Jaffrey, the Head of Mission, knew that in the short run his work would be interrupted. However, like a great general, his vision for a greater campaign in the future inspired optimism. To one of his fellow missionaries he outlined his strategy for “conquests” ahead:
With a steady hand and the voice of one assured of victory, he traced upon the map our coming campaign: the Natuna and Anambas Islands; Sumatra ferreting out and mopping up those pockets of satanic resistance in the central and southern districts; the final liberation of the Punans of Borneo’s hinterland; Bali, firmly held in the grip of the enemy, would be freed, its iron gates yielding under the onslaught of faith and prayer. He paused to give praise to our Commander in Chief for spiritual battles fought and won in some of the smaller islands, then moved on to Misool, the Isle of Demons, the Bird’s Head of New Guinea, the Wissel Lakes area, the Zwart and Memberamo River Valleys, down either side of the Carstenz backbone and at last his finger came to rest over the Grand Valley of the Baliem.353
The person hearing these words was awed at this magnificent display of “a faith that never staggers at the promise of God… of a burning love that counts not life dear unto itself, but is expendable for God; and of a vision that is never dimmed.”354 We also are inspired by this insight into the heart of a great missionary. We know that no significant works can be accomplished without a vision. When God gave Moses one of the greatest missions in history, he also gave him a magnificent vision of what he was going to accomplish:
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
—Exodus 3:78