Tuesday, May 24,
2016
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in
one place. Suddenly,
there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it
filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire
appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit
and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this
ability. At that time there were devout
Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and
they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They
were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are
all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native
languages! Acts 2:1-8(NLT)
Having been raised in the
Northeast I spoke a different language than the new neighbors I encountered
when we moved to rural Florida in 1977.
My ears were accustomed to youse guys, what-evah, and eating
lunch
for the noonday meal. It took me forever
to get accustomed to y’all, and being called darlin’
by someone other than my mother or my wife.
When a dear church member gave us
some vegetables from her garden she apologized for the small amount; the garden
wasn’t makin’ good yet, but there was enough to
make a mess. My bride waited
until we were on the way home and wondered aloud…why would Jean want us to make a
mess with this squash? Jean had
been speaking Southern; we were hearing in Northern.
It was the exact opposite on the
Day of Pentecost. Peter spoke in his own
language and a whole crowd of people (representing many language groups) heard
perfectly – in their own language.
It was a miracle!
I recently watched a video describing how Waverly Labs has
developed an earbud that allows for real time language translation. You wear the earbud when someone is speaking
another language, and you hear it translated.
It was invented by a guy who speaks English, but met and fell in love
with a French-speaking girl.
Love drives a lot, eh?
And that was the point of
Pentecost. The Gospel – the birth of
Jesus, his sinless life, sacrificial death, victorious resurrection and glorious
promise that He will return to usher-in His utter reign among God’s people, was
a love story that needed to be told to everyone. God was not about to let language get in the
way.
My first thought about that language
translation earbud was WOW!
On deeper reflection I began to imagine the implications for sharing the
Gospel with others. Missionaries going
to new places where multiple dialects are spoken, international port city
ministries where different language groups pass in and out daily; the list is
endless.
Another thought I had was wistfully
reminiscent; I wish they’d had this forty years ago when we moved to the South…I could’ve
used a translator then!
For You Today
As a matter of course, guarding
your heart is a good thing. Part of that
is checking up on your attitude. That
means asking yourself a question or two at the right time (NOW).
Here’s a good one: Do you ever let little differences between
you and someone you don’t understand get in the way of the Gospel?
You chew on that as you hit
the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!
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