Language

  My wife and I had a friend that was bi-lingual. In fact he may have been able to speak three languages. I can't remember.

  I asked him if he was good enough to think in other languages. After thinking about it, he said yes. In fact he said he could think in english and spanish.

  Imagine that! I read in english. I speak in english. And I think in english. Would it be strange to think in another language? This guy could! Bizarre!

  Okay, let's say you were looking at an apple. Your brain says apple. But what if your brain said something else (I don't know the spanish word for apple). How cool would that be!

  For me, thinking in a foreign language seems impossible. I think that other people think in english then translate it into their language! They are fooling everyone! Just kidding!

  And what about babies? They have no language. Obviously they can't think! Ask any parent. Mine wonder if I can think even after I learned language!

  This "thinking language" idea has all sorts of practical uses for me as a christian. If I follow the logic of it, I begin to understand why unbelievers have such a difficult time with the gospel message.

  Perhaps if we spoke in the language that they think in, they could begin to have knowledge about God. If we were able to speak in a way that they understood, then the gospel can make sense.

  I am not talking about changing the gospel to something easier for them to believe in. I am talking about changing our "delivery" to something that, if they got it and believed it, we could be certain they were saved.

  Think about it. We christians generally speak a language most people can't hear. We use heavy words like; atonement, propitiation, prodigal, redeemer, consecration, sanctification, gospel, saved, lost. You get the idea!

  Or we swing the other way. We water the gospel down to something it is not. Ever heard these: Accept Jesus into your heart. There is a God shaped hole in your heart. God wants you to prosper. Just pray this prayer. Our church believes... on and on.

  Notice how those things don't really make much sense? Its like telling someone that Jesus loves them. They don't know why he would. They have never met the guy.

  So introduce them. Only one type of person ever comes to a saving knowledge of the Saviour, the person who knows they have sin in their life, that they will be judged for that sin, and God provided a payment in Jesus for those sins. Wow! That's simple!

  If a person knows they have sinned and will face judgement, then they can start to understand why Jesus had to die and rise again.

  Why else would you want to meet a guy who was alive around 2000 years ago? Cause he is a swell dude and loved you so much? Nope. That message is confusing.

  It is my attempt to try and understand the language someone else thinks in. I don't want to muddy the good news up by using terminology that is overbearing. I also don't want to muddy it up by telling people it is something that it isn't.

  The language everyone can think in is called "conscience". Help someone think about theirs. The conscience is a gift from God that he gave us. No other creature on earth has one. 

  Does this all make sense? I hope so.