Speak in Different Tones (1 John 4:5)

“They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.” (1 John 4:5)

From the tips of our fingers to the tip of our tongue, God has made each one of us unique. But God did not make us from metal; He made us from clay - malleable, pliable, easily influenced. When God formed man, it was to reflect his righteousness and to declare his praise with the tips of our fingers and our tongues. Our lips were made to declare “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,” but such is not the case. When man ate the forbidden fruit, he began to speak forbidden things - jealousies, rivalries, envies, slanders, murderous rage, and much, much more from his corrupt heart. From the New York Post to US Weekly, these are the very headlines which sale because these are the things of which the world loves, the language of which they listen.

But this is not the language of heaven, so the Christian may find the world to be angry because they are out of tune. So what solace can the Christian find? God has given us a new heart, a new language, and a new audience. Instead of the world, our God hears us, and so do those who are from God - what comfort is this! What joy we have knowing that someone else speaks in the very tongue of the homeland which we so deeply long? If we are to develop our heavenly vernacular, we need not resort to the language in which we were once too familiar. Instead, let our hearts and minds be shaped and molded by the Word of God. Let our homes be places where only the language of heaven is spoken. Let us develop godly conversation with those who are from God and with God Himself. As Francis Ridley Havergal once penned,

“Lord, speak to me, that I may speak in the living echoes of your tone; as you have sought, so let me seek your erring children lost and lone. O teach me, Lord, that I may teach the precious things you do impart; and wing my words, that they may reach the hidden depths of many a hearts.”