| John 16:29 – “Then Jesus’ disciples said, ‘Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.” |
Many years ago, I attended a very large church on the east coast. The number of people in my Sunday School class was more than the total attendance of most of the churches in my past. It is the first church I have ever attended that had an interpreter for their deaf ministry. I loved watching the interpreter and learned a fair amount of sign language from her.
One Sunday the pastor was preaching and using a word I had never heard before. I’ve been in church all my life and consider myself to be fairly comfortable with Bible terminology, but this one word had me stumped. And judging by the confused faces of those sitting around me, I was not the only one. I happened to be sitting near the interpreter who seemed to be having a bit of trouble with this word as well, and had to finger-spell it each time. Finally in her frustration, she used a sign that I was familiar with and suddenly the whole message made sense! But to those who could not read sign language, the message was probably a waste of time.
I often think of this experience when I am sharing my faith with others. I am careful to choose my words and tailor my speech to the person I am speaking to. Until I get to know someone, I have no idea of their faith history or knowledge of the Bible. We cannot assume that the person we are talking to is as familiar with scripture as we are, or even has a Bible. We need to meet others where they are and not use big words just to show that we know them.
Prayer: Dear Father – Help me to be observant and to use words that are appropriate to the person I am speaking to. I know there are others who have more Bible education than I do, and many who have much less. Help me to use clear examples and to listen for levels of understanding. Amen
– Betty Gossell
