May 18, 2020
“Making it Clear”
“So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.” I Corinthians 14:9
It was years ago and I went to one of my nephews graduation ceremonies. As soon as the first speaker came to the podium everyone in the gymnasium knew we had a problem. We could hear noise coming through the speakers, but the voice was very garbled and you couldn’t understand a thing. The ceremony continued. The Valedictorian spoke. We could hear noise, but couldn’t understand what she said. The Salutatorian spoke. Again we could hear noise, but couldn’t understand what was said. Finally they got around to announcing the graduates. The only way you knew their name was following along in the program. It was sad for everyone involved and especially sad for the graduates.
Maybe that explains my frustration over live streaming our worship services. I want everyone who watches to be able to understand everything that is said. I want the songs to be crisp and bright. I want the prayers to be heard and internalized. I want the name of Jesus to be proclaimed. If you can’t understand you are not going to listen very long.
How important is it that what we say is communicated? If we can’t be understood we are nothing but a clanging cymbal. We are making a lot of noise in church, but is it producing any fruit. Are we actually communicating in a way that people walk away knowing their lives matter to God and that Jesus wants them following Him in every way?
My prayer is that we will always be able to hear and comprehend. Help us to never as Paul says, “You will just be speaking into the air.” It is why we are still striving to get our live stream to be the best it can be. We are not settling on just producing the stream, we want it to be the best so that the words of God can make a difference in lives. May we never get to the place where we are just satisfied with a noise. If we are going to speak for Jesus help us to be the best communicators we can be.
Dear Jesus, help us to make our words understandable and practical. Help us to share the love and truth of God in words that communicate. Give us grace where we fail and give us knowledge to do the job to our fullest intent. We pray all of this in your name, Amen.