“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” – Matthew 10:8 - Daily Bible Reflections June 11,2015

Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle   HAPPY PRISONER   “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” – Matthew 10:8          I am like Jose Rizal in Dapitan, St. Paul in Ephesus, and St. John in Patmos as I write this. No, I am not imprisoned in a remote location. I’m on house arrest because my endearing three-year-old daughter, Reese, had an accident.        Reese was holding an armful of Barbie dolls when she slipped and landed facedown on her Kuya Rob’s Lego blocks. Her lovely face bled. I comforted my weeping angel and wiped the blood away. Thank God the wound was tiny and didn’t poke her eyes.        Rob said to Reese, “I’m sorry.” She replied, “It’s OK, kuya.”        While I was in her “prison,” she told me, “Finish your work, Dad. After that, sing me a lullaby.”        My kids taught me invaluable lessons on mercy and grace — the very nature of God. While I minister to thousands, my kids ministered to me. I realized that, indeed, my first mission field is my own home. I don’t want to have a “sprinkler effect” on my loved ones, where those closest to me receive the least watering of my love. Our family deserves the best of us, not what’s left of us. I choose to be a prisoner of God’s love and the ones He has entrusted under my care. Obet Cabrillas (kpreacherobet@gmail.com)   Reflection: “If one cannot provide for his own household, he is worst than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)   Lord, my home is my first mission field. May I share Your agape love here.   St. Barnabas, Apostle, pray for us.