About four years ago the Spirit told me to put more effort into my French studies. This might have seemed strange for people who knew me considering I had spent four years in Belgium and another 19 years in Quebec. But on my return to Canada I ended up in english ministry in Quebec, not requiring much french at all. I could get by In Montreal with my limited french. But here now the Spirit said “study”.
So I have studied, most days three hours a day, and my french has greatly improved. Then the Lord instructed me to join in with an apostle we greatly respected, joining my church in with his. This church operates in three languages but is primarily a french-speaking church. Ah, I get it Lord. He had been preparing me.
Language is key to understanding culture. My french is great now, giving me great comprehension of the spoken and written language. But to understand and to be understood are two different things, and so here is my weakness, being capable of understanding and struggling to express. But this is not about my struggle with french.
The KIngdom of God is a very unique culture, a culture far more powerful and important than any culture on this planet. We are not native to this culture but are instead adopted into it. We have the same challenge as any immigrant coming into our country's culture, they need the language to understand the culture so they can adapt to this new life.
Many a day, as I plugged away at my studies, I wished that my brain could be transformed into a french thinking brain. French is a wonderfully precise language that reveals the unique way of thinking of a french speaking person. To grasp it you have to let go of your own way of thinking which helps you form sentence structure. You have to let go of the old to grasp the new. This describes the Kingdom process as well.
Jesus warned us that the old had to go in order for the new to come. In the Kingdom this is both transformational and also a process. Unlike our differing cultures, the Kingdom makes it possible for our minds to be transformed to grasp and live according to Kingdom culture. It’s called “renewing”. Apostle Yvon Stabili has said that the only thing we need before Jesus is redemption and the thing we need after Jesus is a daily renewed mind. Scripture encourages us:
“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.” (Romans 12:2)
If we want to understand Kingdom culture we need to bathe ourselves daily in Kingdom language as found in the Word and to grow in our relationship with the Spirit who teaches us this culture. It is a completely foreign way of thinking and living. Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you. Honour leaders who may be against you. Give just because someone asks and give more than what is asked for. Pray and the sick will be healed and the dead will be raised. This is crazy talk from the point of view of the cultures of this world. Without the Spirit we could never make the transition.
My struggle with french is that I can live every day without needing to speak it. Almost everyone I know speaks english and when we are not forced to use something we often don’t. I need people in my life who cannot switch to english out of their sense of compassion. I need situations where I am forced to communicate in french. It is the only way I will improve. I need to get past my fear of imperfection, if you know what I mean. The Kingdom is no different.
The only way we will grasp the Kingdom is when we live the Kingdom. If we study it and even memorize it, there is no value to it. Scripture tells us to not just read and know the word but to live it. Do the Word. Live the culture empowered by the Spirit and you will progress in the process. Do it. Just do it.
The biggest stumbling block to speaking a new language is our fixation on perfection or our fear of mistakes. We must be willing to learn as a child learns, living daily in imperfection until things fall into place. This applies in a big way to Kingdom culture. Father is not afraid of our imperfections, it is part of our growth. He wants us to listen to his voice and step out to live this culture, being daily renewed and living according to his heart. We have to become like children to see the Kingdom which means we move forward as children, knowing we have a lot to learn and mistakes to learn from.
So, let’s not give up. Let’s encourage each other to press on through our learning and growing so that someday we will be better able to communicate the heart of Father through all that we do.
“But we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved.” (Hebrews 10:39)
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