The International Language

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

-- Mark 12:28

The estimates vary, but there are approximately 6,500 spoken languages in the world. Mandarin Chinese has the most native speakers (about 1.2 billion), Spanish comes in second at about 400 million, and English follows at 360 million. But regardless of their nationality, every Christ-follower should be fluent in at least one Romance language. It’s not French, Spanish, Italian or even Portuguese. Instead, it’s the language of love.

We learn through the Bible that God speaks it in several dialects.

Think about the famous story of the Prodigal Son, where the loving father welcomes back his wayward (and totally undeserving) child with open arms. Or what about the shepherd who searches tirelessly for a single missing sheep? When he finally finds it, he returns it triumphantly to the rest of the flock.

Jesus also told his disciples about a man who sold all his possessions to buy a field. But not just any field — instead one that held buried treasure. Although the cost to buy the land was staggering, the man did whatever it took to gain the prize.

These are all pictures of how God expresses his love for us. And he’ll go to any length to bring you and me into his family. Perhaps the most famous passage in the New Testament, John 3:16 tells us that God loves the world so much that he gave his only son (Jesus) so that those who believe in him will have eternal life. God willingly let Jesus suffer and die to pay for all our wrongdoings — past, present and future. We rightfully deserve death because of how we’ve lived our lives and broken God’s laws. But God’s love offers us joy and happiness if we’re only willing to accept it. By living on Earth among everyday people and then dying for our sins, Jesus has already paid the ultimate price.

We can see from these examples that God’s love language — the one we all need to speak — isn’t about feelings or emotion. Instead, it’s all about action. And as the most important of the Fruits of the Spirit, the demonstration of love in our lives is evidence that we’re truly Christ-followers and that he’s living through us. For some, that might translate into feeding the hungry at a homeless shelter, mowing the lawn of an elderly widow or even paying (anonymously) the utility bill of an unemployed neighbor. There’s no shortage of examples or opportunities.

Learning a new language can be difficult. But James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that speaking the most important language of all is quite simple. And it’s when we do that we know we’re on the narrow life-path that Christ advises us to take.

“This royal law is found in the Scriptures: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ If you obey this law, you are doing right.”