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Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:12)

The good folks in the center of our country are known for their “Midwestern nice,” and most of them are also known for their independence. (I can say that, because I’ve spent most of my life in the Midwest, and I can confirm Team Waldstein definitely falls into that category!) I’ve mentioned in past devotionals that we’ve relocated a few times, and in each of those places we were met with kindness from total strangers, despite us never asking for help...even when we needed it! People we had never met before in states and cities we weren’t familiar with spoke a language even the “Midwestern nice and independent” Waldsteins could understand: love.

Acts 2 describes the scene at Pentecost where Jewish worshippers from all over the world had gathered, and all of those people obviously spoke their own languages. All of a sudden these folks began hearing the wonders of God being proclaimed in each of their individual languages! 

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” What did that mean? The Holy Spirit enabled the first Christians to communicate the Good news in languages they had never learned. How does that apply to us all these years later, who have Bibles and teachers and preachers who speak languages we understand, and the internet to translate when we don’t? 

I’ve never been prompted to literally speak a foreign language in order to share the Good News, but I have been nudged to share the Good News via speaking “languages” that don’t come naturally to me. I consider myself to be a friendly person, but I don’t make it a habit to speak to everyone I encounter when out and about…and I certainly never comment on what anyone else is wearing. Not too long ago I waited in line at Target with a woman who looked really beautiful in a particular shade of purple. I thought so to myself, and in my mind I heard, “You should tell her that.” Like I said, I don’t make it a habit to comment on strangers’ outfits, but I did tell her, “You look really beautiful in that color!” She absolutely lit up, and we had a delightful conversation while we continued to wait our turns to make our purchases. We don’t always know what’s going on in the lives of those all around us, but He knows!

The Holy Spirit works through us to speak the “language” of those around us, and the small groups at Chatham Church do a really great job of speaking the language of service, the language of belonging, the language of family, and the language of love. All those times Team Waldstein were blessed by the generosity of strangers in each new place we moved to, it was at the hands of members of our future small groups. By allowing themselves to be the hands and feet of Jesus, they spoke to us the language of God’s love.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a kind word or gesture, seemingly out of the blue? It’s amazing right?! Say a prayer that you will be aware of the opportunities you have to proclaim the wonders of God by speaking the language of love today.