Foreign Lips & Strange Tongues

by Heather Myer

Last night I watched a Japanese movie called The House of the Flying Daggers. I could not understand it without reading the captions. It was, of course, in Japanese. Squinting to read the small yellow print without my glasses, I turned the volume up. This did not help. The sound was turned up some more. The unfamiliar words made no sense what so ever to my Anglican ears. The different pitches and tonalities did not register a meaning. Reaching for the remote buttons again, I settled down with a bowl of popcorn. Munching on my treat, I realized that crunching inhibited hearing the movie. The volume was turned up louder still. Shrill foreign voices echoed through my home. They did not help me understand the fast paced Japanese in the least. Giving up, I searched my apartment for a pair of glasses to at last enjoy the movie.

How often in our Christian walks do we not understand God’s message? How often do we attempt to turn up the quantitative volume on praise and worship, fellowship activities, and serving opportunities? Can a deeper understanding of God be reached through events alone? Just because the volume is turned up does not mean that an understanding has been reached. Sometimes, turning the volume down and reading instead provides knowledge and truth that a higher level cannot.

With foreign lips and strange tongues, God will speak to this people. —Is. 28:11

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http://japanese.about.com/blsjp20_5.htm