The Universal Language by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

            “Pay attention to what God wants to tell you in New York City,” my friend said. This Christian sister knew I was at a crossroad in my life so during my five-day visit to the Big Apple my ears and eyes were open to what God had to say. Would it be audible?  Would it be a feeling? Would the Lord speak to me through my quiet time at the hotel?

            Here I was at the city that never sleeps trying to hear God’s voice amidst the sound of blaring horns and sirens.  One morning, I thought God decided to wake me up early when I heard something that sounded like giant clanging cymbals outside my window. “God’s morning drum practice,” I thought.

            But God’s message did not arrive in a loud package. It reminded me of the prophet, Elijah, when he faced his crossroad and needed a word from God. He was frustrated and was running for his life when God told him to stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord while He passed by.

            Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11-13)

            We have to strain to hear a gentle whisper. We have to be intentional to hear God’s voice. Each day, I tried to keep my eyes and ears open to see and hear this busy metropolis as the Lord sees and hears it but there was no definitive message. Disappointed, as my flight taxied out of La Guardia to return to Texas, I asked the Lord again, “What was I supposed to learn from this trip?”Then I heard in a gentle whisper, “Love my people.”

            That’s when He took me through each day of the visit and brought to mind the faces of those we showed His love to.  Whether it was our new friend from Trinidad that we met at the hotel, the carriage driver at Central Park, the employee at the department store, the deli manager or the  jewelry artist at Chelsea, we reached out a hand of God’s kindness to them. Because of our willingness to reach out, they shared a small piece of their personal stories with us. At that point, I had a revelation.  I thought this was a trip solely for pleasure, but in a sense, it was a mission trip, and we were ambassadors of God’s love. I realized I need to look at every vacation this way.

            It doesn’t matter what part of the world you travel to, God’s love is a universal language that everyone can relate to.  People want to know you care about them, even during a short interaction.  In John 13: 34-35, Jesus says, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

            I pray those we came into contact with in New York City knew we were Christ’s disciples by the outpouring of love we gave them and that in some way, our kindness had an impact on them. We are called to love His people, whether it’s on a vacation or back at home. Love is a language understood and received by all.