. Not Too Far From Wrong

. Not Too Far From Wrong 

It was the Rally Day program at the church and a little
girl was to recite the Scripture she had memorized for
the occasion. When she got in front of the crowd, the
sight of hundreds of eyes peering at her caused her to
forget her memory work.

Every line that she had so carefully rehearsed faded
from her mind and she stood there unable to utter a
single word. In the front row, her mother was almost as
frantic as the little girl. The mother gestured, moved
her lip, trying to form the words for the girl, but it
did no good.

Finally, in desperation the mother whispered the
opening phrase of the memorized Scripture: "I am the
light of the world."

Immediately the child's face lit up and a smile
appeared on it as she said with bold confidence, "My
mother is the light of the world!"

Of course everybody smiled and some laughed out loud.
Then they soberly reflected that the girl, in some way,
was not far from wrong. For the mother is the light of
the child's world.

From Illustrations Unlimited, edited by James S.
Hewett. 
© 1988, Tyndale Publishing House. Cited in Encounter
magazine (Australia), April/May 2005.