#wycliffewednesday #sigosherts
I’ve been reading one story a day about how Bible translation has affected people in different language groups all around the world every morning for the last month or two. It never ceases to amaze me each time I read one. God’s word changes peoples lives. He is so good!
From the Inupiaq people in Alaska a woman named Daphne was asked to read a passage from the newly translated book of 1 John. Daphne practiced all week, reading the passage in her mother tongue. When she stepped up to the pulpit to read she said, “I practiced all week so I would read well tonight, but this text bothered me: ‘If we say we love God and hate our brother, we are liars.’ So I am a liar,” she continued. “I don’t love everyone here. Please forgive me. I want to love everybody. I don’t want to be a liar. I love God, and I want to love you all.”
Even though Daphne had been a Christian for more than 30 years, she never completely understood the Bible in English. It wasn’t until she was able to read it in her Inupiaq language that it spoke to her heart and she truly understood it. People started to notice how different Daphane was too. God’s Word had changed her.
Stories like this challenge me in many ways. First, am I praying that God’s Word will change my heart? Second, how can I help more people get God’s amazing Word in their language, so they can be impacted?