What does it look like to seek God’s kingdom first when the cost is real? Can we trust Christ with everything we love most? In John and Betty Stam, we see hearts wholly surrendered to Jesus, letting go of “little trinkets” for God’s treasures, learning to depend on Him for daily needs, and choosing obedience over comfort. Sent to China, they loved even their enemies, faced captivity with peace, and confessed, “May God be glorified whether by life or by death.” Beheaded in 1934, they still bore witness that to die is gain (Phil. 1:21), and their sacrifice became a seed that stirred many to missions and reminded us that the Great Commission was never meant to be easy, only worth it in Christ.

What does it look like to say “no” to self and “yes” to Jesus in real life? In William Borden’s short, bright life we see Christ’s call to lay up treasures in heaven: though wealthy, admired, and full of opportunity, he chose surrender, loved the overlooked, poured himself into gospel work, and gave generously for missions. Setting his heart on reaching the unreached, he left comfort for Egypt to prepare for ministry to Muslims in China. Though he died at the age of 25 his legacy still preaches that a life yielded to Christ is never wasted.

In Oswald Chambers we see a life of unconditional surrender—saved under Spurgeon’s preaching, yielded beyond his own plans, and shaped by long, hidden hours with God that fueled his public usefulness. Whether giving freely, fasting against the body’s demands, or crawling into a lifeboat on a crowded wartime ship just to pray uninterrupted, he practiced the quiet disciplines that Christ rewards. Serving soldiers in Egypt, he spent himself for others even to the end, and through “Biddy’s” faithful recording of his words, God has continued to call generations to “my utmost for His highest”—a reminder that the depth of our private communion with Jesus shapes the breadth of our witness in the world.