It Has To Translate

“But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and His grace to me was not without effect.”
 I Corinthians 15:10

The success our group of 26 students and chaperones had on our recent trip to Nicaragua would not have been possible without having people around us who could translate what we were saying to the Nicaraguan children and what they were saying to us. Without those translators, their Spanish and our English would have been nothing short of worthless gibberish. And while I’m sure what was being spoken had value and a purpose, without understanding what was being said, those words had little or no meaning to the hearer.

In that setting, while walking on the beach shortly after the children left on the bus to return to their homes, I heard the Lord speak softly but clearly, “It has to translate.” The experience of spending three days with 56 underprivileged children at Camp Allegro had to translate into my life back home, and into our lives back home. Being able to make a difference in their lives, as we poured out the love of Christ and invested in them as individuals, had to translate into making a difference back home. Seeing those mired in poverty had to translate into a life filled with gratitude and generosity. Clearly, if it was only an experience to be remembered and not a catalyst for change, the end result would be far less than the Lord intended.

But the Lord wasn’t done explaining “it has to translate” to me. Having a relationship with Jesus Christ has to translate into our everyday lives, how we interact with people, the effort we put into building relationships and our willingness to share what the Lord has done in our lives with others. Our knowledge of the Word, gained through reading the Bible, has to translate into lifestyle changes where our priorities reflect eternal values and where our choices line up with what pleases the Lord. And further, our awareness of problems and needs in other’s lives only has meaning if it translates into time spent in prayer to see God move in those situations.

To have meaning, our Christianity has to translate into our everyday lives. To have meaning, our faith has to translate into action, into “going about doing good” as was said of Jesus in Acts 10:38. The love Jesus showed us has to translate into our loving others; the sacrificial giving of His life on the cross has to translate into our being generous givers, and not just of our finances but of our time, energy, gifts and talents. So let’s start today to apply “it has to translate” to our individual lives, making sure that we aren’t left with experiences and knowledge that don’t make an impact on the way we live out the precious gift of life we’ve been given!

God bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church