God Speaks All Languages In Many Ways To Everyone On Earth

Some people hear the spoken word and grasp it. They learn by listening. That’s the language they prefer. It can be a southern drawl or a northern vernacular. My wife’s melodious Mississippi slang catches people’s ear. I think people in Maine or Massachusetts sound hilarious.

When I worked in a North Carolina customer call center for Verizon Wireless, we handled callers from New York and New Jersey. They often seemed impatient. Our superintendent told us, “New Yorkers aren’t rude; they’re just in a hurry.” He added, “Southerners aren’t slow; they’re just thinking what to say.”

At times my wife and I had five different single ladies live in our home as house guests, providing a family setting for them. One young woman was from Chicago. She talked so fast! We would ask her to slow down or repeat her words. Our kids loved it.

Here in Northwest Arkansas, we speak English or Spanish. I’ve run into folks who are Marshallese. I don’t have a clue what they are saying. Spoken words may be casual. Dialects can have unfamiliar shortcuts. There are no rules when it comes to common speech.

Some people communicate best with written words. I admire people who are skilled with the written language. However, printed words need to be precise. They endure, as you may have realized if you ever sent an email that you immediately regretted. Written words require proper grammar and diction. Choosing the correct word is important. Words carry content.

Those who know me make a joke out of the fact that when I’m talking while driving, I can easily miss my turn. One friend used it as a deliberate trick. He would get me to discussing something and then laugh when I missed my turn. It seems my brain wants to be 100 percent involved whenever I’m speaking. It’s a good trait, I suppose, for a preacher.

Other people say, “Show me the money!” What matters are actions, not words. They want to see what you’re doing. They watch your performance. They may be sensitive to your failure to follow through. Words don’t mean much. Faithfulness matters more. For some people, affection conveyed by a hug, a kiss, or a touch says more than mere words.

Dr. Gary Smalley wrote a book on love languages. It was helpful for us men to know how to relate to a woman in marriage. I’ve discovered my wife’s love language involves me helping around the house. It says something personal to her, in her language.

We can communicate with symbols. On the internet, emojis are common. So are memes. A meme is a picture that stands for a complete message. For example, at the end of WWII, the photo of a returned sailor kissing his girl told the story of the war being over and how it felt.

God uses symbols like the rainbow. It’s a promise to never destroy the earth with a flood. God speaks all languages, in many ways, to us all. He speaks by the written word through the Scriptures. He speaks in our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit. He speaks through touch. If you’ve worshiped among Christians, you felt his presence. God speaks through deeds. The greatest deed was the son of God crucified for our sins and raised to share eternal life. That act spoke louder than words.

If you want to experience God speaking directly to you, open a channel of communication. Surrender your heart to Jesus Christ. An open heart is the beginning of an open heaven.