Years ago when my sister Mary and I were visiting Sweden, we launched out from our hostess’ home (in a borrowed car) to buy souvenirs. Hours later, when heading back, we got disoriented… and completely lost.
Road signs were in Swedish (duh), and we couldn’t read them. We had no phone and only vague knowledge of an address, and at a gas station the attendant couldn’t understand our questions. Two frustrating hours passed, and through the process of systematically trying every exit and every turn, we finally found our way back. If only we’d had a translator.
This morning I was wondering if Nate needs a translator in paradise. How presumptuous to think he’s speaking English, yet maybe he is. Scripture says those gathered there will be in groups representing every earthly language. (Revelation 7:9) So how will we understand each other?
Maybe as we voice our native tongues, each listener will instinctively understand other languages like a computer effortlessly translates foreign sentences. If that’s true, Nate is still speaking English. Or maybe he’s having fun trying out his college Russian.
A more tidy explanation, though, might be that God will put a new language into our heads and mouths, something supernaturally provided. I do know he’ll use words as a tool to promote togetherness rather than division, since family unity is important.
I love words, and I love putting them together, taking thoughts that are floating around and pinning them to blank paper with ink. My satisfaction in creating word pictures and stories is much like a puzzler enjoying the process of assembling 1000 pieces without ever looking at the box-picture.
But language can also be a barrier. Missionaries and diplomats overcome this by partnering with interpreters, people who know two languages and serve as a link between them.
Louisa, Birgitta, and I have supported a little girl who lives in India since she was 3 years old. Her name is Jayanti, and she’s now a pretty teenager of 15… who speaks no English. Every few weeks we receive a hand-written letter from her, along with a typed translation from an interpreter. We stare at Jayanti’s swirly script and can’t make heads or tails out of it. Without the accompanying translation, we wouldn’t be able to have a relationship with her at all. And of course our mail back to her also needs interpretation. The best we can hope for is that those translating at both ends are skilled and honest.
As for Nate, whether he’s speaking English or something else, he’s in the presence of a keenly skilled, flawlessly honest Interpreter, who fluently speaks and understands every one of the 6000+ languages that exist. Thankfully, that means he completely understands those of us still on the earth. Though we might get confused, he never does.
“By your blood [Jesus] you ransomed people for God from every… language.” (Revelation 5:9)