Red Bird Devotions #23

Love Language

Though my father-in-law, Ralph, has been gone nearly 15 years now, I still think of him often, and fondly.  Ralph Haverkamp immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands as a young man in his mid-twenties.  Knowing almost no English, he would only visit restaurants with pictures on their menus because he could see what food was available there, and then he would point at the photo when the waitress asked him for his order.  Slowly but surely, Ralph’s English vocabulary grew though he never dropped his heavy--but delightful-- Dutch brogue. 

I met Ralph when he was in his 50’s and I struggled to understand him at first.  He was so good-natured, though, that he would keep repeating a word or phrase until I understood what he was saying.  His pronunciation of the hard “ch” sound (like we use when saying “cheese”) made the words “chef--pronounced shef” or “Chicago--pronounced shicago” sound like they are spelled: Chef and Chicago. When he said “jiffy,” it came out as “jippy.” He said other funny things too, but those are the few I remember.  Another thing I do recall, however, is this:  Although he had learned to speak English fluently and well, when Ralph was rushed… or angry… or agitated, his Dutch always came out.  Dutch was his native language, and in times of uncertainty, when he was operating on his own intuition, it was his default method of communication. 

Don’t we, as Christians, do the same thing?  We lay our lives down as living sacrifices--saying that we will serve God and not ourselves anymore.  We live with renewed minds and learn the language of love.  But then, sometimes, when we are stressed, or anxious, or even just hungry, we fall back into our default language of self-absorption, sarcasm, and shame.  We react when we should respond.  We tear down when we should build up.  We start to speak our native language of sin once again. 

Sin is our default, folks.  Yes, we have been forgiven.  We have been covered by Christ’s Robe of Righteousness.  We have been freed from the dominion of sin in our lives.  But still, because we inhabit these “bodies of death” instead of our eventual perfect bodies, we have to struggle against our default. The struggling is hard. But, because of Jesus, we are able...especially when we fight on our knees.

What language have you been speaking lately?  Spend time language-learning by sitting at the feet of the Very Best Teacher.

Become fluent--and consistent-- in the language of love.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Romans 12:1-2

So, I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?  Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 

Romans 7:21-25