The Medicine Cabinet: Get Help — Friday
John 7:46
…“No one ever spoke like this man!” (ESV)
From sea to shining sea, the United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet. And one way that really shows is all the regional accents we have. From the “Hey y’all”s of the south, to the New Englanders who “pahk the cah in Harvahd yahd,” to the long Os of “Minnesoooota.” Just hearing someone talk is often a dead giveaway on what part of the country they’re from.
There’s a great line in John 7, when some guards who were sent to arrest Jesus come back empty-handed, saying, “No one ever spoke like this man!” They were utterly impressed and taken aback by the way Jesus spoke, and it had nothing to do with His pronunciation or dialect.
There could be a whole study on how Jesus spoke, but if I had to boil it down to one thing, I think it had to do with whose glory He was seeking.
The glory we seek has a great deal to do with what we choose to say or not say. When our primary pursuit is our own glory, we will never say anything that might endanger it. What others think of us will dictate our words. We will speak like everyone else speaks for the reasons everyone else speaks—for our benefit, for our glory.
But Jesus gave us a better alternative. He spoke like no one else because He sought the Father’s glory like no one else.
That is what Christlikeness is all about—imitating Him. The most Christlike people seek God’s approval, not man’s, and that governs what they say and what they don’t say. Romans 8:29 tells us God wants us to “be conformed to the image of his Son.” Part of looking like Jesus is sounding like Jesus.
So when people hear you speak, does it remind them of Jesus? Are your words something He would say? Does your tone sound like His?
In other words, when you speak, do you have a Jesus accent?
Friday’s Reflection
Make this your prayer: Lord, may every person I speak with this weekend, every person I encounter, see Jesus in me. May I live and speak in such a way that it reminds them of Jesus.
