Our kids’ favorite part of the day is story time. At the end of a long day, we all gather, and I read to them. Even my oldest, who’s almost in middle school, looks forward to it. We’ve read a variety of books over the years, from mysteries to fantasies to literary classics. Favorites have included The Hobbit, King Arthur, Farmer Boy, and the The Hardy Boys.
One evening, I was reading a different genre than usual. As I neared the end of the book, my eyes started to burn. I blinked and my vision blurred. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. This was unusual for story time. I turned to my son, handed him the book, and whispered, “Can you finish, please?”
He took over reading for me while I sat there in tears. We were reading a biography of Nate Saint.
Saint was a mid-20th century missionary in Ecuador to the Auca Indians. He and four others (including Jim Elliot) were martyred by those they came to serve. Yet this didn’t stop God’s redeeming work. In time, many in the village came to embrace Christ, including the six who killed the missionaries.
Reading a missionary biography, like that of Nate Saint, might not be your first choice since such stories are often filled with heartache and hardship. But I encourage you to consider reading them to your kids for five reasons...to read the rest of this post, visit The Gospel Coalition.
