FEBRUARY 19, John 4:35 

“The missionary speaker we had in Sunday school today was so interesting!” Cheryl told her mother as they arrived home from church one Sunday. “I think missionaries have such an exciting life - traveling far away and seeing new places and different people. And they get to tell the Gospel to people who’ve never heard it before. That would be special! Maybe I’ll be a missionary some day. I hope God calls me to Brazil.” Mom smiled and went to answer the phone.

After a moment, Mom returned. “Cheryl,” she said, holding her hand over the mouthpiece, “Aunty Peck Suan would like you to go with her tomorrow afternoon to visit the new girl who just moved to our block last month.” “Tomorrow? Do I have to?” asked Cheryl with a frown. Mom spoke into the phone. “Cheryl will call you later, Aunty Peck Suan,” she said. After hanging up the phone, she turned to her daughter. “Do you remember what the optometrist said when you had your eye examination a week ago?” “Sure.” Cheryl nodded, wondering why Mom was asking about that. “He said I have 20/20 vision, and that means I have perfect eyesight. At twenty feet I can see exactly what our eyes are supposed to see from that distance.”

“Right,” said Mom, “and I’m glad you have 20/20 vision in your eyes. But when it comes to your ‘missionary vision,’ it seems to me that you’re quite longsighted. A person whose eyes are longsighted can see things in the distance, but they can’t see objects up close very well. You’re apparently excited at the idea of going far away to tell people about Jesus, but you don’t seem to be interested in the girl nearby. If you don’t want to witness here, what makes you think you’d want to witness if you went far away?”

Cheryl was startled. “I... I... You’re right,” she admitted. “I should go with Aunty Peck Suan to see the new girl. I’ll call her right now.”

Thought: Are you interested in taking the Gospel to a far away place someday? That’s great! Are you also concerned about the people nearby- people all around you who are facing an eternity in hell if they don’t accept Jesus as Savior?

Prayer: Father in heaven, help me to be a “home” missionary, that I can be a good witness to people you have put in my life. They could be classmates, neighbours, relatives. Help me not to be afraid to say a word for Jesus, knowing that He died on the cross for me. In His name I pray, amen.