Speaking their Language
Musings from the Garden
By Peggy Wyar
As I was reading in Acts recently I began to muse about this world changing event in the second chapter. The disciples were all gathered together in one place and the promised Holy Spirit arrived as a rushing wind and as tongues of fire. Acts 2:4 NIV tells us, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
The disciples were filled. They began to do something they had no ability in themselves to do. They spoke different languages as the Spirit enabled them, and the advent of the Spirit drew a crowd.
Acts 2:6 “When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.”
Acts 2:11-12 ”—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
The crowds were amazed, perplexed, and bewildered. They could not explain why they understood what the disciples were saying in their own language.
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and realize that they were not getting what you were communicating? Understanding wasn’t happening between you even though the desire was there to connect. Sometimes a “new language” is needed for understanding to happen. We can trust the Holy Spirit to supply what we lack.
In considering what I know of languages, there are dialects used in different countries and regions that are foreign to people outside of that geographical area. There are also various technical jargons that would be difficult to interpret if you did not work in the particular profession that uses that language. Various words are associated with different sciences that may not be common to the general population. All of these examples show that speaking another’s language may not be as easy as we may think. I have found even within our family, there have been certain phrases that mean different things to different members that have lead to misunderstandings.
Looking at the above scripture we read that the crowd was hearing the disciples declare the wonders of God in their own tongue (language). Isn’t that the goal of communication? We want to effectively speak so the other person gains understanding of what we are saying. As God’s ambassadors, let’s desire to be able to speak another’s language (even if it feels awkward to us).
Jesus is a wonderful example of using the language of the people He was conversing with to teach them about God. He spoke parables about fish and seeds and banquets and wedding feasts that most of His audience would comprehend.
In much the same way, as we have conversations with others, we have opportunities to discover their “language”. People have hobbies, things they love, places they frequent, games they like to play, books and movies that have impacted them, family traditions that are meaningful and so many other avenues of receptivity. If we listen well, we can learn how to speak in ways that engage them.
By tuning in to the Spirit, we may be given a “new language” with which to share God’s wonders with them. Maybe we’ll be led to share a story that causes them to thirst for the Source of Living Water, or be given an object lesson to cause them to hunger for God. Our message of hope never changes: the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for salvation.
How we communicate the good news can change as God inspires us. It is Him making the invitation through us, so let’s be amazed along with the crowds in Acts as we communicate and are heard in many different languages by those around us.