I don’t know why, but as I was speaking to him, it occurred to me that we were not speaking the same language. So as not to appear to obvious, I waited until another time to ask him the question that I wanted to ask immediately.
“Karl, what language do you think in?”, I said to him as offhandedly as I could. Without missing a beat he said, “Austrian.” Karl had lived in Australia for 20 years but had been born in Austria (two very different countries who are geographically or unobservant of precise spelling). He wasn’t that old but, when he thought about something, his mind would be processing his thoughts in Austrian, not English, the language he had been speaking every day of his life for the last 20 years.
It made me think of Jesus oft repeated challenge, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:9, 23, 14:35, Matthew 11:15). Isn’t Jesus saying that for effective communication to occur the hearer must be listening in the same language of the speaker? We know that the Lord is not speaking of human languages as they were both speaking and hearing in the same language. He is speaking of understanding the message you hear.
This is the same truth that applies when we try to communicate in English to someone of a different generation. The King James Bible is an extreme example of this. It is written in English, but it is often very difficult to understand. For example, in 1611 when it was published the word, “let”, meant to stop. Now it means to allow. Its present meaning is almost an exact opposite of its original meaning. Do you think that might change the message of a few verses? Oh yes. So what is the solution? I think the easiest one is to use a translation that uses 20th or 21st century English. Most of us do that.
This really highlights a very important principle in our efforts to communicate the good news of Jesus to a lost and dying world. We must try as hard as we can to speak in the language of the people. Now, don’t get me wrong. No one has the right to change the content of the message, not even an angel (Galatians 1:8-9). That’s not what I am saying. I am saying that we must use our best efforts to speak the unchangeable gospel in the changeable languages of the day.
Paul specifically mentions this in 1 Corinthians 9:22 “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” Becoming all things to all men involves speaking to them in their language, their style, and their images.
You see, different people and generations listen in different ways. I think we generalize too much about the generations, but I do think that there are fundamental differences in the communication that occurs today as compared to the 1950’s. I won’t go into all the differences but they are huge. OK, I will go into one difference. Today most people, especially those born since the early 1960s get a lot of their information visually (TV, movies, video, internet, etc). So, because of that I use references to movies and occasionally movie clips to connect with the audience. However if you are one who doesn’t communicate this way much, then you will get little from a lesson like this. However when I preach with extensive quotations of scripture and with lists of points you might hear the message clearly. The problem is that there are many who don’t hear the message clearly when I use that style.
This is important. When we are trying to communicate we must not only pay attention to the language and style we are speaking in, we must pay attention to the language and style that the people are listening in. You see, I can’t change the language they listen in, but I can change the language I speak in.
The gospel has been given to us and we have welcomed it into our hearts, minds and lives. God has blessed us with the task of taking this gracious gospel into all the world. We are not called to do this haphazardly or without care. We care enough to make sure that the hearers have the best chance we can give them to connect with the message. What does that mean?
It may mean …….
1. Feeding some physical food before getting the opportunity to feed them the Word. Didn’t Jesus do that? See Matthew 15:29-39
2. Holding someone’s hand through a crisis and in that love get the opportunity to truly be heard.
3. Submitting to someone long before we get the opportunity to speak the word. Isn’t that what Peter asked wives to do? See 1 Peter 3:1-2
4. Learning a new language so they hear the gospel in their native tongue.
5. Speaking to their felt needs before speaking to their eternal needs.
6. Listening to my child’s terrible music so as to find a point of connection with him.
Why go to all this trouble? Because many will not hear the story of Jesus without it. What are you willing to become to get the message of Jesus to the people in your life and your community?
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