What Language Will You Speak In Heaven?
Every once in a while, I have the privilege to preach God’s Word in our Spanish service. Sorry, no hablo español. So I preach with a translator, which is like running in a three-legged race. You eventually reach your goal, but it’s a bit slow and awkward. One of the brothers in our Spanish Ministry told me I should just go ahead and learn Spanish. “After all, that’s what we’ll all be speaking in heaven.” He might have been joking, but I’m not so sure.
What language will we speak in heaven? I’ve heard some suggest we won’t speak any of the languages we use here on earth because they will all be replaced with a new common language God will give us. That may be, but I have a different theory. While I do agree God will likely provide a new lingua franca, I expect we will continue to use all the languages of earth. In fact, I believe even dead languages, like Ancient Greek, will be spoken in heaven.
This is speculation, of course, but I have some reasons for my guess. First, every dialect has a unique beauty. New Zealanders have a unique accent, as do Aussies, Brits, Scots, people from the deep south, and so on. They are incredibly different from one another, but each is uniquely beautiful and compelling. I do not think God will just throw that beauty away.
Every language also has a unique ability to communicate that no other language can perfectly match. We discover this regularly in preaching the Bible, since there no perfect English equivalent to the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic originals. Expert Bible translators do their best, but all of them acknowledge the best they can do is get close.
However, the strongest reason in support of my theory is the declaration in Scripture that Jesus, by his own blood, “purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9) What a glorious promise! Every culture in the world will be represented in God’s eternal home, and the countless languages spoken will each be a continual testimony to the breadth of the grace of God in Christ.
We will get a foretaste of this at the International Day this Sunday, from 4-7pm. This outreach event is sponsored by our Spanish ministry and will feature booths serving iconic foods from 14 different countries. Spanish-speaking countries will be predominant, naturally, but there will be a couple of wild cards just to make things interesting. My mom, who emigrated from Denmark when she was 9, will be helping me make and serve Danish aebleskivers. It should be a sweet change up after the many wonderful savory foods we will enjoy.
This purpose of this event is to be a compelling introduction to the church for our community. So invite a friend and stop by to taste the goodness of the many beautiful cultures in God’s good world.
Pastor Toby
Categories: Evergreen Connection