I sat on the couch as tears rolled down my face. “What’s happening, Mommy? You’re not sad, are you?” Luke asked, puzzled. After all, it was family worship, our favorite time of the day. But these were tears of rejoicing.

On this particular day, our worship was in Luke 5:1-11 when Jesus called the disciples. It was as if I were reading it for the first time. The difference? Now I was reading the story with the heart of a true missionary. I read, “And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, ‘Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.’ And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.” My jaw dropped as the words leapt off the page and into my heart. There was no way to express the joy I felt at that moment. Jesus was calling me like He had the other disciples. He was personally inviting me to labor with Him. What a privilege and honor!

“There is a work for every one of us to do in this world . . . . What is life if it is not devoted to the service of God? Everyone who has enlisted under the banner of Christ has pledged himself to become a missionary for God” (Signs of the Times, Sept. 28, 1891)

Let faith grasp these words spoken to you! “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

• Twitter