Living overseas provided me with a good understanding of the phrase “lost in translation.” From thinking my daughter had been hit with a stick in kindergarten instead of stung by a bee, to driving to the wrong village for my son’s soccer game because of the difference of a single syllable, being unable to understand someone can be both humorous and frustrating.

Imagine how amazing it must have felt for those weary travelers from the ends of the earth to hear the wonders of God’s grace, Christ crucified and risen, in their own language on that first Pentecost. The followers of Christ, many of whom were unschooled and ordinary men, had been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to speak the language of salvation to those gathered in Jerusalem. On that day, about three thousand people heard the gospel message and came to join the fellowship of believers.

How can we speak this language of salvation to others? While we may not be called upon to learn a new language and travel to a foreign mission field, the field is ripe in our own backyard. Speaking the language of salvation to those in our own mission field can begin with connecting with the lonely, listening to the hurting, or smiling at that new family in church. Praying for opportunities and tuning in to the needs of those we meet on life’s path can create bridges to share Jesus in a language that they can understand.

Speaking the language of salvation may not involve translating sentences or spending time on a language app; rather, it can be taking time to pause and consider the needs of others and how we can fill them with the gospel.

Our world is brimming with misunderstandings even without a language barrier. Yet, by meeting the needs of others in our neighborhoods and sharing that language of salvation, the Holy Spirit brings peace, salvation, and hope to troubled hearts plagued by dissension and strife. When Peter and John were called on to stop preaching the name of Christ by the Sanhedrin, Peter boldly declared, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). May God empower each of us to season our conversations with that name above all names and speak the language of salvation in our own unique mission fields.