LANGUAGE LIMITATION

From My Perspective - - -

One of the most frustrating situations to be in is when and where language is being used and one has no idea what is being said. It has to be a very lonely and confusing moment. Years ago, I had the privilege of being invited to play an instrument with a “Gospel Team.” We would go to jails and rescue missions – occasionally, a church. There was a sharp contrast when we went to two different islands in New York Harbor. One was Governor’s Island that served as a Military Stockade. It was a very beautifully kept place – but – it was a jail nevertheless. The other was Ellis Island that served as the entry point for Immigrants entering into this country for the first time. The setting was not all that lovely – basically, a large terminal type facility. We would go and play our instruments, give a testimony and someone would give a “message”. The problem with the “message” was not the content – but – the inability of most in the terminal to understand what was being communicated. The only indication of understanding is when we would play the old Hymns of the church. At that moment, the universal language of music was able to convey a message.

We recently had a guest in our home from Ukraine. It was a teenage girl who was part of a group brought to this country to see if there were American families who might become foster parents for a teenage orphan. Our son had provided a home setting for this child for six weeks to determine whether it would be workable to be (a) foster parents for her, or (b) to adopt her as a teenage daughter. . I watched this child and wondered about what she could understand and what she was thinking/feeling. Some might say that another universal language is “love” – but – what if this person has never been in a place or context where “love” was displayed and experienced? What if this person has no living and working definition of what “love” actually is? Technology allows for some communication. One can use an I-pad and type in a sentence and easily find a way to have it translated into another language. When this girl smiled, which was seldom, she was so pretty – but – most of the time, it was a blank stare and an inability to understand what was going on around her. One can only empathize with the lonely, empty and frustrating feelings such a one is knowing.

The six week stay in this country ended yesterday and she will return to Ukraine sometime today. One of the sad exchanges was in regard to this understanding of “love”. Before she was to leave, our son and his wife asked if she felt “loved” – and – her answer was – “No!” It may be due to the fact that she has been an orphan all of her life and has never lived in a foster situation where “love” was defined by word and deed. It causes me to wonder about two key areas: (1) How clear and effective can a verse of Scripture – John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” – be in the life of an orphan who is fifteen and been unwanted all of her life? - and (2) What kind of sense and commitment does the “Christian” and “Church” have in terms of personal involvement with orphans? Is it anywhere close to James 1:22, 27 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says…Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”?

Our Grand-daughter is married to an Attorney – Sam McLure - who has committed himself and his law practice to be: The Adoption Law Firm in Montgomery, AL. He can provide you with the information and cost schedule that will enable one to be an adoptive or foster parent. James 2:16-17 asks and declares: “If one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” The Message paraphrases verse 17: “Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” What think ye? What say ye? Consider these things with me!