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The Devotional Diva - Love in Any Language
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The Devotional Diva - Love in Any Language
By Barbara Gobbs
Executive Assistant and Ministry Partner - Pocket Full of Change Ministries
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” I John 4:16 (KJV)
I am so excited to share something with you. Yesterday in Bible study, our class overflowed with guests. While each guest was a blessing to our group, two in particular had a touching effect on me.
It was my week to teach. My excitement level was high, as I couldn’t wait to see how the women would respond and interact over the morning lesson. There was so much to glean from our appointed passage and so little time.
As people welcomed one another and seated themselves, two guests arrived and then two more. Each was a mother-daughter team. However, there was something special about one particular pair. Mayda and her mother-in-law were Hispanic. There was nothing unusual about that, but I then discovered the mother-in-law spoke no English.
This was going to be a new experience for me. My English-speaking friends have a hard enough time with me, what was I going to do now! Did my two years in Phoenix hearing Spanish spoken and getting to know those from Mexico help prepare me for this day? I really wished I had taken those language classes!
I must confess, several years ago this would have terrified me tremendously. Language barriers scare me. The only thing worse than not being understood, is not being able to understand. Yet, I had a peaceful sensation that calmed my anxiety - mostly.
As the class progressed, I watched the countenance on Senora Tophila’s face. Mayda translated keys points and comments for Tophila. Then Mayda offered testimony about her mother-in-law. She relayed to us, in broken but lovely English that Tophila had taught her about Jesus and her children about Jesus and she believed that we should tell everyone, all over, about Jesus. Tophila would nod and indicated her love for Christ by her face and hand motions.
Why was I teaching this class when such a woman so in love with God was present! Oh that I could have sat at her feet and listened to her instruct us on God’s command to go and tell to world about Jesus.
At the end of class, I slipped to my knees to close us in prayer. Tophila joined me on the floor. The love this woman had for her Savior needed no interpretation.
Now don’t get me wrong. Every woman in that class was special and each one in love with God. I could sit at each of their feet to listen to their personal testimony and praise. But there was something that touched my heart about Tophila and all I could think about was an old Sandy Patty song that goes “Love in any language straight from the heart, pulls us all together, never apart.” Whether it was Christo Jesus or Jesus Christ, it was love all the same and it kept us together in Christian unity.
You will cross paths with any number of people this week. Some might speak Spanish or French or Chinese. And it’s possible everyone you bump into will only speak English. Yet even someone else’s English can be totally foreign to us and raise a barrier that only a godly love can breach.
Perhaps you’ll run into the foreign sounds created by your teenager. You may hear the strange language of a husband or an over-wrought boss. Perhaps you have a friend speaking the language of devastation or illness.
I guess the question to ask is “How are our love language skills?” Can we love one another even if we don’t fully understand the language? Can we rise up to conquer our fears of not understanding someone and actively loving him or her anyway? Can we put aside the fact; someone might not fully understand our language d’jour and just let the love of Christ shine through?
It might be wise to give it a try!
Vaya Con Dios (Go with God) in every language!
Barbara
Barbara Gobbs is a ministry partner with and the Executive Assistant of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to request a newsletter, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden, Publicist at 904 316-5462. This ministry is supported by donations. If this ministry helps you or others, and God calls you to help support this work, you can make a donation to Pocket Full of Change Ministry at POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240.
© Pocket Full of Change Ministries
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