A Common Language

H

e was from Japan; I was from the United States.  He didn’t speak English; I didn’t speak Japanese.  Yet, here the two of us were, sharing a compartment in a train leaving Germany and heading for France.  The trip was going to be a long one, especially if neither of us could communicate with the other.  I remember staring at the floor, looking out the window, trying to think of some way to communicate with my fellow passenger.  Speaking English didn’t work; speaking more slowly and in a louder voice, didn’t help either.  He was also experiencing the same frustrations and was just as exasperated as I was.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I heard him say: “Parlez-vous francais?”  What music that was to my ears.  Yes, I spoke French and he did too.  This changed everything.  We spent the next several hours getting acquainted.  He was from Tokyo and was studying in France for the year.  I was also studying in France that year so we had a lot in common.  During the train ride from Munich to Paris, I learned about his family, his study program, and I learned a lot about Japan.  Likewise, he learned about my background and things about the States he had never known.

All this happened between two people from opposite ends of the world.  Had it not been for French, we would never have been able to communicate, share stories, or become acquaintances.  What a picture that was.  Two people, from two different cultures, having two different views of the world, sharing with each other in a language that was foreign to both!  My high school French teacher, Mrs. McGinnis, would have been both proud and shocked!  I was!

Do you realize that the same thing happens between us and God?  As sinners, before we come to the knowledge of salvation through Christ, we do not speak the same language as God.  We cannot communicate with him because we have nothing in common.  As the Scriptures say in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

But there is a way we can approach God to have a wonderful relationship with Him and that way is through His son, Jesus Christ.  1 Timothy 2:5 tells us, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” Jesus makes it possible for us to communicate and have a relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Instead of staring out the window, looking at the floor, or wondering how we can relate to God, we simply turn to Christ and he becomes the common language between God and man.  Once we’ve accepted Christ, we learn all about God, his family, his love, his grace, his mercy, and his plan for our lives. The language of Christ is the language God uses to speak to mankind about love, forgiveness, and eternal life.

The application to our lives isn’t difficult to make.  Unless we accept Christ as the Lord of our lives, unless we come to God through him, we cannot communicate with our Heavenly Father.  We remain on the outside of the conversation with no way to communicate and no way to learn about God.  So, really, the question is quite simple: Are you and God speaking a common language today?  If you need a dictionary, just open the pages of your Bible!