Africa Advent: Babel

My view from the TOP OF AFRICA

For several months I lived amongst refugees from all over the world in the US. I made it my personal goal to learn a proper greeting in all their languages. It wasn’t easy, but they loved when I’d try and sometimes succeed. Communication or an effort to communicate in their language broke down barriers.

I’ve since moved across the world to South Africa. While English is one of the eleven national languages there’s still much pride in the mother tongue, whatever that may be. I’ve again made it my goal to pick up some of the language.  It’s difficult but worth the broken barriers.

I often think about what the world looked like when we all spoke one language. Before the Great Scatter of Babel people spoke the same language and made the same goals. Their goal: to be like God. The way to do this: build a tower to the heavens, great for all to see.

My view from the TOP OF AFRICA

It wasn’t good news that the people were sharing.

The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do…” (Genesis 11:6)

Sin spread quickly and so the Lord, in grace, confused the language and scattered the people all over the world.

Today many friends of mine devote a full day of work to learning another language so they might share Good News. It’s ironic how the tables turn.

There’d never be a tower that could reach the heavens. There could never be a people so united they’d become more needed or more powerful than God. He’d show us this not through power, but humility and not in heaven but in the flesh sent to earth… He’d come and confuse the sheep once more so that we’d see we need Him more than He needs us.

Me jumping at the TOP OF AFRICA