Dios. Señor. Jesuscristo. As I stood in the all-Spanish church service this past Palm Sunday, I had one half-formed thought: To know Your name in another language.
I took Spanish classes all throughout middle school and high school. During this time, I learned how to conjugate verbs, say common phrases, and name various foods and objects. Attending a public school, however, I never learned vocabulary related to God or faith.
This past spring break, I participated in my first international mission trip to Costa Rica. During this trip, I was able to pull from my rusty toolbox of Spanish vocabulary, suited best for broad conversation and small talk. However, as I stood in the church service on Sunday, reading and singing along to the Spanish lyrics that discussed God, I realized this was uncharted territory for my Spanish-speaking abilities.
Up until that point, I could describe colors, hobbies and places in Spanish. But here, for the first time, I was naming God in Spanish and describing His holiness and goodness in another language. This was a different thing altogether, I thought.
That night, I reflected on how interesting it is that we live in a world with various cultures and languages. Each one is like a small piece to a grand puzzle.
Within the English language alone, there are not enough words to describe God’s character. Every combination of English words about God barely scratches the surface of who He is.
How much more is God’s vastness captured when we realize there are hundreds of other languages that have their own contribution of vocabulary for who God is, yet we still can not fully express His greatness? Nonetheless, each culture and each language may get us one step closer.
On this side of heaven, I think one of our main pursuits as Christians should be to see God rightly and more fully. Perhaps different cultures are something God has given us as a means of doing this; learning a new language may be a way we can worship Him as He ought to be worshipped and see Him more completely. Being able to praise Him in Spanish, for example, gives us a glimpse of who God is and how He is seen by the people in Spanish-speaking countries.
Dios. Señor. Jesuscristo. God has given His people all over the world thousands of ways to address Him and call Him by name. How wonderful is that?
Infinite things can be said of God because He is infinite. While we may never reach the end of who He is, glorifying Him in new cultural contexts inches us closer to seeing Him more wholly. Let us always seize opportunities to learn His name in another language and call upon Him in new places.
