A Tongue Twister of Faith

Hanging around with people who follow Jesus presents me with many opportunities to talk about the mysteries of God. Those things about God that we just don't understand (or should I say 'totally' don't understand?) but we desperately try to wrap our brains around them. Things like - why did he make the duck-billed platapus? Why are men and woman so different? And the more mystical questions about prophecy and tongues. It's not often we come up with new or different perspective on these age old questions but yesterday I had a new thought (at least new to me). What if tongues was meant to be a practical gift? Let me explain.

We have a new refugee family that just moved into our community. Unlucky for them they arrived in the middle of a cold spell in central Canada. As we were discussing their arrival one person commented that they don't speak a word of English. My mind suddenly made a quantum leap, I was pulled out of southern Manitoba and reminded of a very familiar passage of scripture - the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentacost (Acts 2).


"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Acts 2:1-11

I was also reminded of something I have heard many times "Remember the foreigner". Over forty times in the Old Testament we are commanded to care for the foreigner in our land!

"The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love his as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Lev 19:34

"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves
the alien, giving him food and clothing." Deut 10:18

As these two passages were brought together in my mind I couldn't help but wonder how amazing it would be to walk into this refugee families home and share the good news of Jesus with them in their mother tongue! Wasn't that in fact what happened for the disciples? They were able to preach to good news to all present in their own language - and the people were not only amazed, they were converted! It wasn't about some cosmic freak show at Pentacost, it was a loving God displaying just how much he cared about each person present. He cared enough to speak to them in their own language! To me that is amazing!! To think that God had such personal interest in each person there. He knew them, the language that they spoke and provided a way for them to encouter the truth of who he is.

So I began thinking about the gift of tongues and it's role in our lives today.

Now you must know that I grew up in a very conservative community/church and the gift of tongues was tabboo to say the least. Nobody had the gift, and even fewer people wanted to talk about it. But as I ventured out of that bubble I encountered many mysteries of God that began to reshape my thinking as well as my God experience. Tongues was one of those encounters. But no matter were I have gone the gift of tongues is a big mystery to people - even the people who speak in tongues. We often think of it as being very impractical (and most would say requires interpretation in order to be of any use). But here was my new perspective....

What if God wanted to share the gospel of Jesus with our new refugees? He knows they are here, and he knows that they don't speak English (and we all do). Do I believe that God is waiting for them to learn English before he will reveal himself to them? Or is it possible that He wants to display His glory through one of his spirit filled followers? What if my tongue is the very language that these refugees speak? That would be amazing. That would be the kind of thing that my God of love would do! Maybe I need to pray about that! Maybe someone else is being asked to ask for the gift of tongues for that very reason but is unsure as to its purpose!?

And what about our missionaries who spend years learning the language of the culture they are about to serve in. What if God wanted to share the gospel with them today? What about the tribes of South America who nobody has found yet? Does anyone speak their language? God does! I could spend 10 years trying to figure out this tribes dialect before I could communicate with them the gospel. With the gift of tongues, God's spirit could do that TODAY! So I had to ask myself another question. Do I have more faith that I could discern and learn a tribes language over the course of a decade, or do I have more faith that God could gift me with their tongue through the power of his spirit? After all, he created them. He knows them. He gave them their language.

So now I am contemplating the idea that my time could be better spent praying for the gift of tongues then relying on my own wisdom or ability to learn. And besides, which one will give God more glory? My hard work or his divine provision?

The result has been that I am rethinking the gift of tongues and starting to conclude that it may be one of the most practical gifts of them all. I'll keep you posted.