07/24/2018
I am writing to you today in English, but what is your native tongue? From what country, race, or people do you hail? There are those of so many different nationalities who will read this today, and even into the future; this is truly a missionary outreach to all the world. As Christians we know no borders, and there is no limiting language. The blood of Jesus Christ has made us as one, and brought us together by that common calling of which Revelation speaks... into the people and priests of one Holy Kingdom!
“And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."”
Revelation 5:9-10 ESV
In my home church there are multiple earthly languages spoken, and many peoples represented. We are open to all of these, and also to those who speak in heavenly tongues that are called prayer languages. What I am saying is that we are not divided by such things, but find unity through Jesus as he joins us into a single Kingdom of God.
I love the word Amen; its meaning brings me great joy, and by using it I claim joint ownership in the blessings and prayers of others, but what thrills me most is that it is the same in every language spoken on earth. Amen is a transliteration, or a word that is pronounced the same regardless of where it is used. This is a word that joins us in one tongue, and is perhaps one of the beginning words we learn as we draw close to speaking the Kingdom Language. It joins other words, like Hallelujah, in teaching us the beginnings of a renewed common language. We will understand all tongues as one.
“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.”
Genesis 11:1 ESV
We know from this scripture in Genesis that God created man and gave him one language, and that Adam refined it further as he named all of the animals. But there came a point in which God used language as a means of separating men, of confusing us.
“And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech."”
Genesis 11:6-7 ESV
As we learn our native languages we are taught to think within the confines of them. We reason differently from one another because the words we learn from birth control how we form thought. As an example, some languages place a descriptive word before a noun, while others put if afterwards, but a day is coming in which all of this division will no longer be necessary, and we will speak a common language once more. It is our natural inclination, even today... and what I see happening in my church is just a taste of what is to come.
I listen to those around me as they speak, and something amazing happens when people of various languages come together, and begin to live and worship closely as one... their languages meld together. This will continue into the distant future as we become more and more one people, but it has its roots in the very earliest days of coming together. I hear some people in my church family conversing primarily in Spanish yet it is mixed with the occasional English, or the words of others, and this is true of all the peoples in our congregation. This, along with such things as foods, dress, and the other things of habitual custom, come together to form a new and common culture, and will this be true of our faith? Will the culture and language of God one day be perfectly joined within His Holy Kingdom? I dare say it will... one blood of Christ, one grace, one means of forgiveness, one people, one Kingdom. A new song that we will sing together.
Are you prepared for this day? Are you open to a new way of thinking, speaking, and singing? Are you prepared to speak as one, to learn a new song and a new common language? If you are, then read the scripture as if it were the gathering of the faithful, and learn to say Amen while realizing that this Word is just the beginning of a new day, and a new people of common faith.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the diversity among us as your children, but thank you also for bringing us together through the blood of your Son Jesus Christ into the beginnings of your Holy Kingdom, that is to come. Help us Holy Father as we dismantle the walls that divide us in preparation for our lives of worship together. Teach us to accept our place at your table, and feed us with the one bread and wine that has nourished generations of Christians around the world. Show us who you are Father by the breaking of this bread, and the remembrance of your Son. Let us be like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who recognized Jesus when He broke bread. Let our eyes be opened, and our tongues united as we shout Hallelujah, and say Amen together. Call us to your Kingdom Mighty Father, and allow us to wave our palm branches as we sing together before you. You are our King, and the God who has joined all things together by your Word. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you the Father of all, and the singularity of our creation and existence; for now as in the beginning you are the Word.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 ESV
Rich Forbes