Short Stories

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C O M M O N S E N S E

“The Two Missionaries”

Once upon a time or so the story goes, there were two missionaries sent out to a new land to spread the word of God. The elder of the two said to the younger, “This is your first evangelist experience abroad; therefore, you will need to concentrate on your message, build a church and teach the locals the foundations of the faith. I will be back to check up on you in a year.” The younger missionary nodded in affirmation of his goals and looked forward to the challenges ahead.

Early the next morning, he began his missionary duties. He would rise early beginning his day with prayer, followed by an hour of preaching the word, which lead into four hours of hard labor building the church build, then two hours of Bible study, prayer and then rest for the night. This routine he followed religiously. Days turned into weeks and then into month before the young missionary began to notice something strange. No one in the village ever paid him any mind. Whether it was prayer or preaching, the people continued going about their daily lives. Even in the building of the church house, he could not hire anyone to help him. Puzzled, he decided to break his routine and wonder the village to see for himself why the people paid him no mind.

All ignored him except a visiting merchant from a neighboring village. “Sir, I am a missionary of the Lord and I have been sent here to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ as well as to build a house for worship, but all the people here ignore me.” The merchant who spoke several languages in order to sell his goods simply explained that these people were simple people who did not except those who did not talk like them, walk like them, or dress like them. “Oh what should I do then to reach them?” The merchant replied, “Learn to be like them.”

Happy to know what the problem was, the young missionary returned home to consider what to do. “I know. I will leave off building the church house, prayer and preaching to learn how to be more like the people I intend to reach,” he reasoned. So beginning the very next morning the young missionary started his day off with prayer then spent the rest of the day learning to do what the natives were doing. Soon, he even stopped praying each morning.

Over the course of time, days turned into weeks, weeks into months, the year had passed and the old missionary came to see how well the young missionary was doing. Arriving in the village, he found the church house undone, with leaves and debris covering the incomplete foundation. He found the Bibles still in their boxes, hymnals still unpacked and the young missionary no where in sight. Fearing for the life of the young missionary, he began to search the village for him. Turning down a side street, he came upon a woman who pointed to the house where he now lived. Calling loudly, out walked who looked, talked, and acted like the villagers. “Is that you?” questioned the old missionary. “Yes,” was the reply from the young missionary. “I had to learn all about the people I was sent here to save.” He then explained the dilemma that he was in and how everyone had ignored him. “Come go with me” said the old missionary. “Why, what is wrong?” came the reply from the young missionary. “You were sent here to teach and save them, now I must save you.”


COMMON SENSE SAYS: In order to save the world we can allow ourselves to conform to the world, but show the light from within which is Jesus the Christ.

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