Mission

“As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” Isaiah 66:13

In another verse in Isaiah, we can read these poignant words, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (49:15) We can find many images in the Bible that speak of God’s love for us, His protection, His faithfulness and generosity. If we know these truths for ourselves and stand on them, we can pass it on to others. This is an important part of our mission and our purpose. 

I came across a sharing by Helen Luecke. She was feeling depressed and hopeless because she just learned that her mother had just 3 months to live. The doctor said, “There’s no need to bring her back. The chemotherapy is no longer working.” On the way home, she and her mother took the plane. Before the plane left the tarmac, a tall young man brought a 7 year old girl on board and sat her across the aisle from Helen’s mother. Helen thought, “I hope she doesn’t bother Momma.” 

The small girl, whose name was Lisa, started crying. Momma leaned over with a tissue and caught the tear, “Now where’s the smile?” Momma continued to talk to Lisa until a smile came. It turned out her parents were separated and lived far away from each other and she was shuttled back and forth. Momma listened because she knew about tears, and she knew about how life goes on, that the years will fly by, and that there’s a smile behind every tear. Lisa listened to all the wisdom Momma had to share and was comforted. Helen listened too and did not feel so sad.

When the plane landed, little Lisa exposed a snaggle-tooth smile and said thank you to Momma for talking to her. Momma had been a bearer of a message of hope and consolation. We too are called to be bringers of light into every dark corner. We do not need to go to Africa or China to be missionaries. We just need to know the message that God wants spread into every corner of the world, and pass it on to anyone we meet.