Joshua eagerly opened the birthday gift his aunt had sent him. "Look!" he said. "It's the game I've been wanting!"
"There's something else in here too," Mom said, pulling a smaller package from the bottom of the box.
Joshua tore it open. "It's a book of missionary stories."
"Oh, those should be interesting," said Mom. "Aunt Sue works with missionaries and probably thought you'd like to read some of their stories."
Joshua shrugged. "I like mysteries or sports stories," he muttered, tossing the book on the table.
A couple months later, a group of missionaries visited Joshua's church, and his parents had some of them over for dinner. Joshua listened attentively as one of them told about his experiences in India. "A local pastor and I were on our way to preach in one of the villages," said Mr. Kim. "As we were walking, we noticed a leopard following us. We expected it to attack us at any moment, but it never did. To our surprise, it finally just quit following us and left us alone." He smiled. "I believe God kept us safe in answer to the prayers of His people back home." He went on to tell of another time God had kept him safe in a dangerous situation. Joshua would have liked to hear more, but the missionaries needed to get to the church for a meeting.
Several days later, Joshua idly took a book from a shelf and turned a few pages. He suddenly sat up straight. "Mom!" he exclaimed. "This book from Aunt Sue is written by Mr. Kim!" Joshua eagerly started reading the stories.
"This book is good," said Joshua, putting it down when it was time to go to bed. "After reading this, I feel like I know Mr. Kim better. I hope he comes to our church again sometime."
"You feel like he's a friend, don't you?" said Mom. "After you met him, you got to know him better through his book. That's something like our relationship with Jesus, Joshua. He gave us a book that helps us get to know Him as a friend."
"That's the Bible, isn't it?" Joshua said. "I should read that too and get to know Jesus better."
-Geri Walcott
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you sometimes wish you knew Jesus better? You can get to know Him through His book—the Bible. It has lots of stories that show us who God is and how much He loves us. As you read the Bible and learn more about it at church, it will help you know Jesus more and more. Get to know Jesus better as a friend by reading His book.
TODAY'S KEY VERSE: John 5:39 (KJV)
These are the very Scriptures
that testify about me [Jesus]. (NIV)