I've been itching for days to write this post, but I also started a new job this week. A girl can only do so much, right? So between doing manual labor to finish up camp inventory for nine hours a day, adjusting to life in a new city, and trying to begin a plan to prep for an upcoming 5k, I've maybe let a few things slip through my fingers. Oops? I'm sure the blogging world will forgive me in time...
The week before moving to Nashville, I was blessed to spend a few short days in Mississippi with Daniel. We were both reminded one afternoon of just how sweet the Lord is and how powerfully He calls us not to forget that we all belong to Him. (Have I mentioned I'm blessed to have conversations like that be a normal part of my dating life?) That reminder was powerful for me as I come off of a full summer of ministry. I've soaking in the opportunities lately to sit at a coffee shop or in my bedroom and just dive into His word. I'm thirsty for it, and yet still I wonder if He will ever be able to stop reminding me that I cannot make it on my own...
I sat at the Panera by my new apartment earlier this week (a place you can be sure I will frequent-- it may be a little too close for my own good...) and spent a little time enjoying the Lord's presence and a strawberry smoothie. I've recently begun a study of Acts and I was blown away that day as began to dive into chapter two. I'll hopefully share later about the beauty of the first two verses, but for today I'm caught up on what we see happen in verse four...
"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."
To catch up a little, Jesus has just left the Earth with the promise that He would send someone in His place. His disciples are all together when He fulfills this promise and sends His Holy Spirit-- something I've been studying for ages and could go off on a million tangents about. I'll just say this, and then get back on track: Wow-- what a crazy thing that God Himself would send His Spirit rushing in to dwell inside of us... more on that later. Back to my point--
I began to think through this moment when the Spirit enables the twelve to speak in different languages. Why? What's the point? It seems obvious... now they can go out and share Christ's story with people all across the world. But there's more to it than just that.
The story comes to mind of the other time in Scripture that we see God change the languages of a group of people. In Genesis 11, God scatters the languages of the people at the tower of Babel as a result of them worshipping false idols. They were displeasing God, so he blocked their form of communication.The point of the change of languages in this story is disunity-- separation due to sins.
But the point of the change of languages in Acts is the exact opposite. Here, God has enabled a group of people to go out and communicate with others for the sake of sharing the Gospel.
Do you see it? Acts is the coming together of what was broken apart in Genesis.
The people can again communicate with one another. Redemption steps in.
The Spirit comes and reconnection happens. The Spirit comes and communication is reopened.
What a picture of the Gospel we can see through these two stories. Originally, all people spoke one language, just as originally we all walked as one with God. But sin happened, so God caused a separation and blocked communication-- be it between people in Babylonia, or between us and God Himself. So many years later, after the life and death of Jesus, God reopens the door for communication-- yes, between people of the world, but much more importantly between us and God.
Christ is our intercessor, the door between our sinful selves and the holy perfection of God. We see in Romans that the Spirit intercedes for us-- our salvation in Christ gives us the opportunity to again connect directly with the Father. He gives us the right to stand wholly redeemed in His blood. Accounts all throughout Scripture point to this beautiful truth and I'm fascinated by how God makes His message clear through the smallest things, even something like language. His tiny details go to show just how big our God is. I don't know about you, but I love that humbling reminder.
We've been given the opportunity to directly connect with the God who breathed the world into existence via His very Spirit abiding inside of us. Are you making the most of that gift today? I know I should fall flat on my face at that realization much more often than I do.
Something to think about... Don't let that redemption go uncherished.
