The universal language of Christ

If you’ve ever had the experience of being a “foreigner”, you know how humbling it can be. We had the privilege of visiting our daughter Mindy in Switzerland. It was a wonderful opportunity to see breathtaking countryside and to make lifelong memories. It also helped us to realize that this world is a lot bigger than own little corner of it, and that we are not as smart as we thought. Ordering meals, interpreting train schedules and even purchasing a few groceries, I could feel my IQ diminishing by the minute, because I didn’t know the language and customs. I’m sure every immigrant in Canada understands that “look” from a local which says, “What are you – one brick short of a load?”

There was one experience, however, which left me feeling at home even with the language barrier: We attended church with Mindy. Oh, we had already visited a couple of churches – museums, really. Filled with golden statues, priceless paintings and stonework dating back nearly 1000 years, these buildings seemed to us to be more about history than about living faith. With tall steeples encasing bells which echoed through the valleys every quarter-hour, the old churches were quaint. But on the inside, the golden crucifixes interred behind iron gates left us feeling farther from God, not closer. It was as if God was beyond the reach of the common man – something I understood to be untrue, Christ having become a common man Himself.

Then we visited the church it had taken Mindy half a year to find: a storefront mission in a neighbouring town. From the outside, you could easily take it for just another business office. But inside, there was a familiar warmth, as several people shook our hands and welcomed us. Wide doors led to a bright room filled with chairs forming a quarter-circle around a corner stage. Then the worship time began. Although the songs were unknown to us, we tried to follow along with the German words on the overhead screen. As we joined in the praise to God as best we could, I was struck with a brief glimpse of how it will be when we are gathered around the throne of God in heaven, every tribe and tongue worshipping together. I looked around and saw faces of people who clearly knew Jesus as an intimate friend, not a distant and lifeless icon.

Then they sang a song we knew, first in Swiss German, then in English. The familiar tune and words brought tears to my eyes as we sang along wholeheartedly: “God will make a way where there seems to be no way.” God had indeed made a way for Mindy to find Christian brothers and sisters thousands of miles from home. He had made a way for us to visit her and share this experience. He had even made a way to remind me that His children are family, regardless of language, customs – or even intelligence!

Terrie Todd is a freelance writer from Portage la Prairie, Man.