Let love be your ‘native tongue’

Editor’s Note: We are looking for local churches to submit church articles. This is a perfect place for you to share your church’s heart for the community and a sermonette from a recent or future message. This week I am filling in since we are waiting on new content.

A few weeks back I heard a new song by the Christian music group Switchfoot. The title is cleverly named native tongue. The song is about how we as Christians should use our native tongue or what should be natural to us should be God’s love for people. In the song, he implores us all to be walking in the very thing that should come naturally to us.

LYRICS: Sing the words of the wise and the young

Show me the place where your words come from

Love is the language, love is your native tongue

And yet… It appears that we have exchanged religious dogma, political, social or positions for what should be the love of Christ as our primary “language”. That is why I believe sometimes people accuse Christian of hate. We justify it by saying we hate the sin and love the sinner.

Which very well might be true, however, if they don’t see His love permeate through you first, they wrongly assume that we are all running around with big sticks waiting to smack them for the bad things they do.

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

(Galatians 5:14-15 ESV)

My friend, where did we go wrong?

My Lord, we forgot our sound

My soul, such a long way from

My lips, my lungs, my native tongue

Many people who don’t believe in God are quick to point out the faults of Christians because we should be the beacon of love and morality. However, if you look back on our heritage, through our country alone, you can see the good things we have done; many of the original hospitals, charities and schools were built out of the love that Christians have for people.

When we act with a selfless love like Christ did by laying his very life down for others, and therefore clothe the needy, feed the poor and be there for the hurting, non-believers might just be attracted to the faith and maybe just maybe, shut the mouth of the naysayers. People from the outside are also looking at how we are treating our fellow church members. It’s been said that Christians are the only group of people that shoot their wounded.

Sing it to me, whisper into my ear

Accuser’s voices start to disappear

In the wind, in the tongues of the flame

In my soul, in my one true name, oh

16 By this, we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16 NKJV)

Remember we have an audience of non-believers that are watching us and a God that will hold us accountable for the things we do, so go today and speak in your native tongue.