Corona Devo 836

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  ~Philippians 2:9-11

I was educated this week in the language of love.  God's love.  Most of us (around here) speak it in English, but God's language of love traverses language barriers, cultural differences, age and explanation.  

He has provided an unexplainable unity in being His sons and daughters, regardless of where we are born or what language is native to our tongue.  We can communicate with others that are different from us, even those who speak a completely different tongue...if we share a belief in our risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

I hope you have your own stories of experiencing this type of trans-cultural connection, and my kids got their first experience of every tongue declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10) this week when we were visiting our local nursing home.

We were there to read stories to the residents, and I was pleased to see "Angela", whom I had met a couple times before, be escorted in by a caring aid who held her elbow as she slowly took each step.  There was a lifetime of stories behind her quiet smile that I wished I could know.  She often spoke, but in very broken English, as her native language was Hungarian.  

Angela became enamored with our daughter, and she quickly pulled a chair up next to hers.  It was easy to see that Angela enjoyed doting on her...almost as if she were her own granddaughter.  Angela spent most of her time repeatedly offering a slice of banana bread to my daughter and asking (in a Hungarian/English jumble) if my daughter knew “that woman who is reading” ?  (Me).

When it was time to go, we walked Angela back to her room.  Luckily for us (and her), it had “Angela” spelled out in painted wooden letters above the door.  Even so, she seemed unsure if it was her room.  It was. 

She sat down in the stark room and I told her that we would visit her again soon.

She locked eyes with me and said in clear English, “I would like that.  I would like to visit with you about the deep truths of life.”

I knelt down and gently grasped the soft crepey skin of her forearms.  I looked her in the eyes and said, “Angela, the deepest Truth of this life is Jesus.”

Her eyes brightened and she said (in the clearest English I had heard her speak all day), “Yes!  Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.”

Then she began babbling (or praying?) in Hungarian, but I knew (now) that we were “speaking the same language”--the language of God's love.  It was amazing.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  ~Philippians 2:9-11

In previous study of this verse, I had interpreted "every tongue" to mean that even those who didn't want to declare Jesus as Lord...that they will one day, whether they like it or not, for He will be in dominion.

But on that day in the nursing home, while sitting in a tiny Hungarian woman's room, I interpreted the verse completely differently.   ...That at the name of Jesus...every tongue (will) declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  ~Philippians 2:10-11

Every tongue.  Every people-group, every race, every skin-color, every heritage, every tongue will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:11)  

All of us.  Spread out around the globe and speaking many different languages...will one day speak in the same tongue, and every tongue will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord...

We may not know the exact interpretation of these verses until that "day" comes, but I believe my kids and I got a taste of what it will sound like the other day.  How Angela switched her mind and language from straight-Hungarian to clear-English that day, I do not know, but when she called Jesus Christ her Lord and Savior: I was tracking right with her and speaking her language.  The language of love.  God's love.  It traverses language barriers, cultural differences, age and explanation.  

Dicsérjétek az Urat! (Hungarian for "Praise the Lord!").

  

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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