Christ Calls Us to Build Bridges
Oleg and Daniel are brothers in Christ. They worship our Lord together. They take the Lord's Supper together. They've spent an afternoon at the Army-Navy Surplus store shopping together. And one day, they will be in glory, around God's throne, worshiping among others from every tribe, language, and nation together.
Oleg is 59 and doesn't speak English. He's a father who gave up everything to bring his family from Ukraine to a strange land with a language that breaks the rules more than it keeps them. Daniel is 13 and doesn't speak Ukrainian. Nor does he have any idea how to talk to girls.
Daniel and Oleg spent an afternoon together. Even with a translator, it wasn't as easy as hanging out with a best buddy. They span nearly a half-century and 5,725 miles of culture. Looking from the other direction, that's 9,213.4 kilometers and 46-rapidly changing years between them. Somehow, they managed to discuss eating carp, frogs, and horse sausage. Using hand gestures and sound effects, they made jokes and told stories. They laughed.
Daniel's father (this author) served in the military just as Oleg did. When both men were Daniel's age, they were sure of their cold-war enemies: each other—Americans and Soviets. It turns out these old soldiers can tell jokes and laugh together too.
But this isn't the last speech in Rocky IV. "If I can change, and you can change, then everybody can change." No, it's not that at all. Jesus Christ brings his people together as citizens of God's kingdom, as one family. Christ is changing us. He's still changing us; days like this shopping trip are God's means to change us.
It is not easy bridging language barriers. Cultural differences don't help, either. Boomers and Zoomers? That's confusing to everyone. But we are God's people, and that's more than enough to make it worth it. We are blessed when we spend time with the people Jesus died for. We start discovering God's joy for the nations when we make friends across culture and language. God blesses us through these efforts.
We can't say we're longing for Revelation 7:9--the vast multitude of every nation, tribe, people, and language--if we make no effort to worship Jesus together now. God is bringing Ukrainian refugees to worship at Redeeming Life Church. It's safe to say he's blessing us all with such a grand opportunity. It's time to start making bridges for the glory of God.
Whether you speak English or Ukrainian, or another language, we’d love for you to join us at Redeeming Life Church. If you’re not in our area but you’d like to help us build bridges, you can partner with us to buy translation equipment, help provide gas to transport those who don’t yet have driving privileges, fund multi-language meals, or even help with the needs of refugees who gave up everything. Learn how to partner here.