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Living Sacrifice: Willing to be Whittled as an Arrow
What place does ‘sacrifice’ have in the modern world? The Bible says it is central – and that sacrifice is not only a vital key to the future, it is the essence of a Christian’s life, today. Helen Roseveare skilfully weaves stories of sacrifice together with Christian teaching on the subject to show you how sacrifice is the key to joy.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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612 people want to read
About the author
Helen Roseveare
29 books60 followersDr. Helen Roseveare was born in Hailebury, Herts, England in 1925. She became a Christian as a medical student in Cambridge University in 1945. She continued to have strong links with the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union and was designated as the "CICCU missionary" during the 1950s and 1960s. She built a combination hospital/ training center in Ibambi in the early 1950s, then relocated to Nebobongo, living in an old leprosy camp, where she built another hospital. After conflict with other staff at the hospital, she returned to England in 1958.
She returned to the Congo in 1960. In 1964 she was taken prisoner of rebel forces and she remained a prisoner for five months, enduring beatings and rapings. She left the Congo and headed back to England after her release but returned to the Congo in 1966 to assist in the rebuilding of the nation. She helped establish a new medical school and hospital (the other hospitals that she built were destroyed) and served there until she left in 1973. She helped many people from different countries, and helped them when needing food, and drink.
Since her return from Africa, she has had a worldwide ministry in speaking and writing. She was a plenary speaker at the Urbana Missions Convention three times. She is now retired and lives in Northern Ireland. Her life of service was portrayed in the 1989 film Mama Luka Comes Home. Her touching story about how the prayer of Ruth, 10-year-old African girl, for a hot water bottle to save a premature newborn baby after its mother had died has been widely forwarded by email. She survived rape and trial during the Congolese civil war in 1964 because of the intervention of the villagers she had helped previously.
(Wikipedia)
She returned to the Congo in 1960. In 1964 she was taken prisoner of rebel forces and she remained a prisoner for five months, enduring beatings and rapings. She left the Congo and headed back to England after her release but returned to the Congo in 1966 to assist in the rebuilding of the nation. She helped establish a new medical school and hospital (the other hospitals that she built were destroyed) and served there until she left in 1973. She helped many people from different countries, and helped them when needing food, and drink.
Since her return from Africa, she has had a worldwide ministry in speaking and writing. She was a plenary speaker at the Urbana Missions Convention three times. She is now retired and lives in Northern Ireland. Her life of service was portrayed in the 1989 film Mama Luka Comes Home. Her touching story about how the prayer of Ruth, 10-year-old African girl, for a hot water bottle to save a premature newborn baby after its mother had died has been widely forwarded by email. She survived rape and trial during the Congolese civil war in 1964 because of the intervention of the villagers she had helped previously.
(Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
September 4, 2022
Really enjoyed reading this - it’s not very long, and definitely readable in a weekend. Other books have been written about the horrific suffering Helen Roseveare went through as a prisoner in the Congo, and although this touches on that, most of the book is about the time in her life before then. Her self reflection about areas of sin in her life and her willingness to recognise where she needed to change and be ‘whittled like an arrow’ in service of the Lord was refreshingly honest and convicting.
November 21, 2023
I would recommend this missionary biography to any Christian. So humbling and encouraging reading about her faith, strength and perseverance to help the gospel go forth. She also just lived such an interesting life, making the story so shocking and intriguing.
August 3, 2024
This is my first missionary biography I’ve read and it really inspired me to read more of these books! Her story is a little wild at times but it really put into perspective what it means to sacrifice for the gospel!
My favorite quote that I feel like summarizes the whole book is, “Crucifixion, the death-to-self life, must surly be seen by us all as costly, but the abundant life that He wishes to bestow on each can only be seen as unutterable privilege.”
My favorite quote that I feel like summarizes the whole book is, “Crucifixion, the death-to-self life, must surly be seen by us all as costly, but the abundant life that He wishes to bestow on each can only be seen as unutterable privilege.”
March 24, 2025
Helen’s story is such a beautiful one! I loved her honesty about her struggles and the wisdom she gained from the Lord through those struggles. She is such an inspiration and I highlighted so many powerful thoughts she gained from scripture!
March 29, 2024
This book is AWESOME!! So so so encouraged by her vulnerability and honesty about sin. Truly made me look at my own heart, confess, and turn from sin. Not to mention, I love hearing about medical missionaries and the crazy stories they encounter. Helen Roseveare’s sincerity and humbleness left a mark on me 💯
February 22, 2025
This book really helped me examine my heart and how selfish I am about my own needs. Everything is Christs! My life, my time, my belongings, all belongs to him. Not a single second goes by that not His. Live a life of sacrifice, willing to give up these things and get to know Him more. He will provide. Live seeking to know His will.
March 22, 2017
What a challenging book! When reading books by missionaries or persecuted Christians, I am put to shame considering the egotistical, me-centered life I live as an American Christian! What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? It means giving up my "rights," whether real or perceived. Give them up! Home, security, family, money, pride, whatever it is that is keeping us from truly following Christ. Give them up! Dr. Roseveare details in this book the ways God used to show her personally how to be a living sacrifice. I highly recommend it!
April 20, 2020
Missionary biographies is my favorite genre of books and am inspired by other people's stories. Helen Roseveare served as a missionary in Zaire and the Congo and during the uprising in the 50's was tortured, and raped. This book tells how God had prepared her heart for this time and what becoming a living sacrifice because of the One who sacrificed everything for her meant in day-to-day living out.
July 2, 2023
God really used this book to convict and revive my heart. Some may think Roseveare’s words too radical, but I don’t think many believers (including and especially me) are at risk for being too radically committed to our faith at the moment. I couldn’t put this down, and every chapter was full of solid truth demonstrating that loving God involves all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. You should read it!!
March 16, 2025
"Is there always a cost involved in responding...? Would I be willing to pay such a cost...? Do I believe that as my Saviour He has the right to demand such a response to His love if I really love Him as He first loved me?"
Pg 21
A remarkable story of remarkable faith.
Pg 21
A remarkable story of remarkable faith.
November 12, 2025
Readable in two short flights. Packed a spiritual PUNCH. This book came highly recommended and I am now highly recommending it too!
July 4, 2023
"To love the Lord my God with all my soul will involve a spiritual cost. I'll have to give Him my heart, and let Him love through it whom and how He wills, even if this seems at times to break my heart.
To love the Lord my God with all my soul will involve a volitional and emotional cost. I'll have to give Him my will, my rights to decide and choose, and all my relationships, for Him to guide and control, even when I cannot understand His reasoning.
To love the Lord my God with all my mind will involve an intellectual cost. I must give Him my mind, my intelligence, my reasoning powers, and trust Him to work through them, even when He may appear to act in contradiction to common sense.
To love the Lord my God with all my strength will involve a physical cost. I must give Him my body to indwell, and through which to speak, whether He chooses by health or sickness, by strength or weakness, and trust Him utterly with the outcome" (27-28.)
"The side branches, thorns and knots must all be trimmed away with the whittling knife to perfect the arrow. Likewise God is working on my temperament; my sensibilities; my habits - "the sin which clings so closely" -for example, impatience, being hurt easily, unbelief, relying on my feelings; my pride of nationality, education, and apparent natural abilities; my self - self-pity, or self-reliance, or self-justification; my cowardice to face myself for what I really am - to see myself as others see me" (115-116).
"Today it would appear that we Christians prefer to talk of a measure of commitment, the length to which we are willing to become involved, rather than the depths of God's immeasurable love in which we long to become immersed. There is abroad an atmosphere of careful calculation, 'thus far and no further,' maintaining certain reasonable limits. The carefree abandonment of love that marks the sacrifices of Paul, of second-century Christians, of nineteenth-century missionaries, seems sadly lacking. Today we weigh up what we can afford to give Him: in those days, they knew that they could not afford to give Him less than all!" (124-125).
To love the Lord my God with all my soul will involve a volitional and emotional cost. I'll have to give Him my will, my rights to decide and choose, and all my relationships, for Him to guide and control, even when I cannot understand His reasoning.
To love the Lord my God with all my mind will involve an intellectual cost. I must give Him my mind, my intelligence, my reasoning powers, and trust Him to work through them, even when He may appear to act in contradiction to common sense.
To love the Lord my God with all my strength will involve a physical cost. I must give Him my body to indwell, and through which to speak, whether He chooses by health or sickness, by strength or weakness, and trust Him utterly with the outcome" (27-28.)
"The side branches, thorns and knots must all be trimmed away with the whittling knife to perfect the arrow. Likewise God is working on my temperament; my sensibilities; my habits - "the sin which clings so closely" -for example, impatience, being hurt easily, unbelief, relying on my feelings; my pride of nationality, education, and apparent natural abilities; my self - self-pity, or self-reliance, or self-justification; my cowardice to face myself for what I really am - to see myself as others see me" (115-116).
"Today it would appear that we Christians prefer to talk of a measure of commitment, the length to which we are willing to become involved, rather than the depths of God's immeasurable love in which we long to become immersed. There is abroad an atmosphere of careful calculation, 'thus far and no further,' maintaining certain reasonable limits. The carefree abandonment of love that marks the sacrifices of Paul, of second-century Christians, of nineteenth-century missionaries, seems sadly lacking. Today we weigh up what we can afford to give Him: in those days, they knew that they could not afford to give Him less than all!" (124-125).
October 1, 2008
This is a beautifully written book. It tells the story of the life of being a living Sacrifice that Helen Roseveare has learned,both on and off the mission field. She was a missionary doctor and surgeon to the Congo from 1953-1973.
This story reminded of the sacrificial life of Christ and how we can offer our lives as living sacrifices to unto God. I could relate to some of her struggles and fears in choosing to go to the mission field. My husband and I served as missionaries with YWAM for 4&1/2 years. I remember my mother actually crying when we said we were called to go to a foreign feild. She actually said ,"the next time you see me it will be in a coffin." She was quite dramatic, but nonetheless it ripped at my heart. The next hardest choice was returning to the field following the death of my father, and the birth of our first child. Many tears were shed and many prayers said. In it all God spoke comfort and strength to us. Having a child on the mission field opened up so many doors. I could sit and breast feed my child with the West Indian women. I could go to the local clinic with my new baby just like them. God knew what was best and I could trust him.
A little aside: Helen came to know Christ as a child through her reading of The Book of Common Prayer! As she knelt next to her mother at the communion rail the words spoken by the Anglican priest spurred a searching in her heart.
This story reminded of the sacrificial life of Christ and how we can offer our lives as living sacrifices to unto God. I could relate to some of her struggles and fears in choosing to go to the mission field. My husband and I served as missionaries with YWAM for 4&1/2 years. I remember my mother actually crying when we said we were called to go to a foreign feild. She actually said ,"the next time you see me it will be in a coffin." She was quite dramatic, but nonetheless it ripped at my heart. The next hardest choice was returning to the field following the death of my father, and the birth of our first child. Many tears were shed and many prayers said. In it all God spoke comfort and strength to us. Having a child on the mission field opened up so many doors. I could sit and breast feed my child with the West Indian women. I could go to the local clinic with my new baby just like them. God knew what was best and I could trust him.
A little aside: Helen came to know Christ as a child through her reading of The Book of Common Prayer! As she knelt next to her mother at the communion rail the words spoken by the Anglican priest spurred a searching in her heart.
April 19, 2012
This is part of the Living series by Helen Roseveare, with this one emphasizing on being a living sacrifice to God. Helen used stories from her missionary experience and explained what giving our Lord all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength means. It really challenges my faith as I read about her humbleness to accept the blame and apologize, how she learned from her sins, her radical obedience to give up everything in order to know Christ better, how she responds to people, etc. I also enjoyed reading the epilogue where she responds to questions and criticisms. Her story about how she handled the demands of her missionary and family responsibility through God's words helped me understand what is the right response. This is a challenging book to read, but you would feel encourage to grow in your faith after reading it.
Favorite Quote: "Doctor," he said, "I don't think the Lord Jesus would have spoken like that." I stood still, agonizingly still, my eyes shut, a great struggle in my weary heart. How right he was, how obviously right, and yet where did I go next? I wanted to break down and cry, to run away; to escape, to leave it all - but I could not." We went back to the women's ward, where I apologized."
Favorite Quote: "Doctor," he said, "I don't think the Lord Jesus would have spoken like that." I stood still, agonizingly still, my eyes shut, a great struggle in my weary heart. How right he was, how obviously right, and yet where did I go next? I wanted to break down and cry, to run away; to escape, to leave it all - but I could not." We went back to the women's ward, where I apologized."
May 21, 2014
Outstanding. Highly recommend.
Dr. Roseveare is transparent and vulnerable in her writing as she shares stories of her own struggles to love God with all of her heart, soul, mind & strength. She is an engaging storyteller; the poignant pages a delightful read. I especially enjoyed considering how our Father made known things not yet surrendered in Helen, connecting the every day dots of life with the truth of His Word, exhortations of fellow believers, and the woo of His own voice. I walk away humbled and challenged: "To be a living sacrifice will involve all of myself. My will and my emotions, my health & vitality, my thinking and activities, all are to be available to God, to be emplyed as He chooses, to reveal Himself to others....To be a living sacrifice will involve all my love. My emotions and desires are to be actively dedicated to the Lord, with one burning desire, to worship Him more worthily and to serve Him more wholeheartedly....I accept gladly His best will for my life."-(pp. 130-131). Be ready...neutrality is not an option. (Of course, it never was.)
"MARCH ON, my soul, with might!" Judges 5:21
Dr. Roseveare is transparent and vulnerable in her writing as she shares stories of her own struggles to love God with all of her heart, soul, mind & strength. She is an engaging storyteller; the poignant pages a delightful read. I especially enjoyed considering how our Father made known things not yet surrendered in Helen, connecting the every day dots of life with the truth of His Word, exhortations of fellow believers, and the woo of His own voice. I walk away humbled and challenged: "To be a living sacrifice will involve all of myself. My will and my emotions, my health & vitality, my thinking and activities, all are to be available to God, to be emplyed as He chooses, to reveal Himself to others....To be a living sacrifice will involve all my love. My emotions and desires are to be actively dedicated to the Lord, with one burning desire, to worship Him more worthily and to serve Him more wholeheartedly....I accept gladly His best will for my life."-(pp. 130-131). Be ready...neutrality is not an option. (Of course, it never was.)
"MARCH ON, my soul, with might!" Judges 5:21
January 4, 2016
This a beautiful book about Roserveare's mission work. I read the entire thing on a 6 hour plane ride, even though I was flying with my three kids, so it must have been riveting, ha! While you'd expect this book to be about how the missionary changed her mission field, this story is of how her mission field changed the missionary. Such a beautiful honesty in her words and encouraging for every Christian.
March 9, 2017
You wouldn't think that you could pack in so many powerful and convicting truths in one small volume! And while this might not be an overly eloquent work of literature, the raw honesty and beautiful words of a live given over to Christ is what made it a five-star book for me. It's one that I will want to read and re-read again over the years.
March 14, 2015
I'm giving this book a five, not because she rates up there with Dickens in beauty of speech but because her Christian journey is so challenging to my own. This isn't the kind of book you read if you want to be cozy. It's a book for people who want to live right to the edge of God's will for their lives.
October 21, 2016
I have only read a few of Helen Roseveare's books, but every book is so tactfully written with such truth of who God is and what His desire is for us as His disciples. Roseveare is a wonderful writer. This and the rest of her books are a MUST read!
November 26, 2021
For anyone who wants to be challenged: Living Sacrifice by Dr Helen Roseveare. I've just finished this (first published in 1980; reprinted in 2007) and am compelled to start all over again.
My Mum knew this extraordinary missionary back in the day, and I was drawn to her story, some of which I retold in my own book, and which still (unnervingly) made me cry when I reached that section while recording it as an Audible book recently. As a doctor in the Congo (Zaire as it was at the time), the challenges she faced in the 1950s and 60s were huge: learning the language, creating training courses, covering a vast area and never-ending number of patients, building facilities (including learning to make and lay bricks), doing complex surgery, isolation, uprising and revolution etc.
This book unpacks the realities of a life submitted completely to Christ and how she faced the gritty choices of loving Him with ALL of her heart, soul, mind and strength while in the African bush. The honesty of her own grappling with the demands of Jesus strike an uncomfortable chord in a western era of comfort and (mostly) unconscious entitlement.
It's not a book for the faint-hearted but I found the radical nature of her challenges refreshing and timely. Having read her books years ago about the journey of her mission ('Give me This Mountain' and 'He Gave Us a Valley'), I knew that she was brought to a point where every hardship and sacrifice became viewed as a privilege. I don't think I'm quite there myself (!) but am girding up my spiritual loins to read it again and face the hard questions. You might be up for it too.
My Mum knew this extraordinary missionary back in the day, and I was drawn to her story, some of which I retold in my own book, and which still (unnervingly) made me cry when I reached that section while recording it as an Audible book recently. As a doctor in the Congo (Zaire as it was at the time), the challenges she faced in the 1950s and 60s were huge: learning the language, creating training courses, covering a vast area and never-ending number of patients, building facilities (including learning to make and lay bricks), doing complex surgery, isolation, uprising and revolution etc.
This book unpacks the realities of a life submitted completely to Christ and how she faced the gritty choices of loving Him with ALL of her heart, soul, mind and strength while in the African bush. The honesty of her own grappling with the demands of Jesus strike an uncomfortable chord in a western era of comfort and (mostly) unconscious entitlement.
It's not a book for the faint-hearted but I found the radical nature of her challenges refreshing and timely. Having read her books years ago about the journey of her mission ('Give me This Mountain' and 'He Gave Us a Valley'), I knew that she was brought to a point where every hardship and sacrifice became viewed as a privilege. I don't think I'm quite there myself (!) but am girding up my spiritual loins to read it again and face the hard questions. You might be up for it too.
July 3, 2024
July 2, 2024. The day I finished this book. I have a sense of longing to continue reading her story. I am so gripped.
Nevertheless, my heart just burns with passion and longs to dive deeper into knowing my God…To giving “my life, my all” for Him. Oh how we need to come to grips that we are only clay pots - broken pitchers - for the Lord! Are we willing to be a broken pitcher so that His glory shine through the cracks?
“you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5, ESV)
Helen Roseveare, a handmaiden of the Lord! She must truly say “I know my God.” As a medical missionary, God taught her a life of sacrificial joy, love, and obedience. It is not easy. God never promised. But it is worth it.
Words from Living Sacrifice:
“I need to be so utterly God’s that He can use me or hide me, as He chooses, as an arrow in His hand or in His quiver. I will ask no questions: I relinquish all to rights to Him, who desires my supreme good. He knows best.”
“To thus be transformed, was I willing - am I still willing - for the whittling, sandpapering, stripping process necessary in my Christian life?”
Nevertheless, my heart just burns with passion and longs to dive deeper into knowing my God…To giving “my life, my all” for Him. Oh how we need to come to grips that we are only clay pots - broken pitchers - for the Lord! Are we willing to be a broken pitcher so that His glory shine through the cracks?
“you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5, ESV)
Helen Roseveare, a handmaiden of the Lord! She must truly say “I know my God.” As a medical missionary, God taught her a life of sacrificial joy, love, and obedience. It is not easy. God never promised. But it is worth it.
Words from Living Sacrifice:
“I need to be so utterly God’s that He can use me or hide me, as He chooses, as an arrow in His hand or in His quiver. I will ask no questions: I relinquish all to rights to Him, who desires my supreme good. He knows best.”
“To thus be transformed, was I willing - am I still willing - for the whittling, sandpapering, stripping process necessary in my Christian life?”
August 6, 2024
“To be a living sacrifice will involve all my time. God wants me to live every minute for Him in accordance with His will and purpose, sixty minutes of every hour, twenty four hours of everyday, being available to Him. No time can be considered as my own, or as ‘off-duty’ or ‘free’. I cannot barter with God about how much time I can give to serve Him. Whatever I am doing, be it a routine salaried job, or housework at home, be it holiday time, or after work Christian youth activities, all should be undertaken for Him, to reveal His indwelling presence to those around me. The example of my life must be as telling as my preaching if He is to be honored.”
This book was convicting, challenging, and eye-opening in so many ways. I’m super thankful to have read it in d-group and to have been able to discuss it with some of my favorite people :)
This book was convicting, challenging, and eye-opening in so many ways. I’m super thankful to have read it in d-group and to have been able to discuss it with some of my favorite people :)
July 21, 2025
This was a surprisingly encouraging and convicting read. She shares how she learned the lessons of being a living sacrifice by loving the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength in her missionary life in the Congo and what that could look like in modern western society. I really appreciated her perspective on loving the Lord with all your strength and how Spirit led each of our lives needs to be in surrender to His will as the Lord knows what is best for His glory and our good. Very encouraged in my own life to be faithful with what the Lord is asking of me even if that doesn’t look like what people expect.
August 24, 2025
I read this book when I was starting out at Bible College several years ago and it wrecked me. God did so much in my heart through the call that Helen so beautiful presents to readers to surrender. I have more recently reread it and it has again given me the timely push to allow God to consume me all over again. I don't doubt I'll come back to it again for God to do the same in another few years time. I have bought this book for several people I have mentored and will likely continue to do so. It is a call to consecrate ourselves to the living God because He deserves our souls, our lives, our all.
February 7, 2023
4.5 stars. An impacting read. This was challenging for sure and at times I thought " I don't think we have to go that far" and things along that line however I couldn't find any bible verses to back that up instead they all seemed to support Dr Helen's thoughts. A great little but powerful book I will certainly read again. Convicting but encourages, to do better. To give more of myself to God and helps point out what I might be holding back. I loved Dr Helen's honesty and willingness to share so openly her perceived failures and mistakes.
November 1, 2024
If you like books that are more story telling then I’d recommend this. I prefer that but she still makes it clear what to apply for your life. She talks about her experience as a missionary related to how God calling us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. My favorite part was maybe mind. I can often think that the way I thought of doing something is really smart, and then God does something else - but God really is better.
November 24, 2024
This book was an amazing gift from my Sunday School teacher! I really enjoyed Helen’s storytelling abilities, and I felt like I learned a lot about Jesus and how to improve my walk with Him. How to surrender everything and to give up myself to the Lord and however He wills for my life. The extended metaphor of being stripped down and turned from a branch into an arrow was the perfect analogy of living life purely for Christ Jesus!
February 20, 2025
Better than expected. Helpful to read the writing of a Christian from mid-twentieth century on sacrifice and living for Christ with all our heart, mind and strength. It’s more challenging than what can be common in popular Christian books, social media, etc. today. We can often hold parts of our lives back from Christ under the guise of rights. This book challenged me to be willing to give more, to give everything. I doubt I’ll learn fast so a reread is probably in order in due course.
January 15, 2019
“It is not enough to give mental assent to doctrinal teaching. There must be a practical realistic response. The plea is for action.” Rom 12:1 “present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God.”
Such an amazing True story of a women who gave up all and so sacrificially learn the will of God. Often times the hard way. Yet, she persevered as a living sacrifice unto the Gospel
Such an amazing True story of a women who gave up all and so sacrificially learn the will of God. Often times the hard way. Yet, she persevered as a living sacrifice unto the Gospel
November 27, 2019
Riveting story! I was captivated from the first page! But what really drew me in and pierced my heart was the honesty with which Dr. Roseveare shared her struggles to lay aside self and allow God to work in and through her. She is so relatable, and I was convicted and challenged by this little book. Worth your time to read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews