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Translating More Than Words
It was only when the big-lipped Kayapó warriors in Brazil read “God’s paper” for themselves that they turned to Christ.
A murder among the Dani in Papua spelled certain war until the tribal leader remembered that “that Big Book admonishes us to love our enemies.”
A Wai Wai witchdoctor led the way for his entire Brazilian tribe to trust Christ, and to this day they hold the printed Word of God as precious as a newborn baby.
Translation has been integral to making disciples among the unreached. Are there more frontiers out there? What else might need to be translated? Wycliffe Bible Translators affirms that there are still 2,000 tribal languages to be translated, and certainly they must be a priority. But what about a translation of a different sort?
Translation, or explaining something in a way that is easier to understand, has often involved a transfer of language. But perhaps in the coming decades, translation will look quite different. It might look like:
Just as translating Scripture into primitive languages takes years, so it will take years to incarnate Jesus into the context of the 2 billion people in the world who have no idea who Jesus is, let alone know what it is to live and love like Him. Nearly 4 billion of earth’s 7 billion live where no religious worker’s visa is possible. The sociological, economic, religious and language barriers are gigantic.
Fifty years ago, the Kayapó, Dani and Wai Wai were “hidden” peoples. Who are the hidden people today? Might they be living in the slums of the world’s greatest cities, in the high rises of affluent capitals, or in the progressive niche industries of our fast-paced society?
What is the modern equivalent of Earl and Ivy Trapp living among the Kayapó to bring the good news; or Dave and Esther Scovill incarnating the life of Christ among the Dani; or Bob and Florine Hawkins living in a hut for decades so the Wai Wai could see who Jesus is? The translators throughout Crossworld’s history are my heroes of a bygone era.
But we are still about translating — explaining something in a way that it is easier to understand. We’re looking for translators for today’s world — those who will take their profession, expertise, skill and competency and go to all nations. Not just to live, but to live and love like Jesus and explain His gospel in a way people understand, in their worldview. I look forward to seeing what the next generation of heroes will look like and how God will show His glory to the unreached through them. Will you be one of them?
A murder among the Dani in Papua spelled certain war until the tribal leader remembered that “that Big Book admonishes us to love our enemies.”
A Wai Wai witchdoctor led the way for his entire Brazilian tribe to trust Christ, and to this day they hold the printed Word of God as precious as a newborn baby.
Translation of a Different Sort
Translation has been integral to making disciples among the unreached. Are there more frontiers out there? What else might need to be translated? Wycliffe Bible Translators affirms that there are still 2,000 tribal languages to be translated, and certainly they must be a priority. But what about a translation of a different sort?
Translation, or explaining something in a way that is easier to understand, has often involved a transfer of language. But perhaps in the coming decades, translation will look quite different. It might look like:
- Learning to incarnate the love of Jesus to victims of the human trafficking industry in the sin-riddled hubs of Mumbai, Sonagachi, Phnom Penh or Bangkok, and doing so by “moving in” to their neighborhoods.
- Learning the Arabic language, studying the Qu’ran and adapting to living in a high rise in Dubai, Riyadh, Casablanca, Tunis or Tripoli so that real life in Jesus can be translated into ways the neighbors can understand.
- Joining the business community in places like Astana, Baku, Tashkent, Hanoi or Chengdu, listening carefully to how life is understood in their context and helping people learn to “live and love” like Jesus.
- Translating ancient biblical truths into the language of agnostic, relativistic European cynics to create understanding in places like Minsk, Prague, Hamburg, Munich, Paris and Brussels.
- Incarnating the resurrected Jesus in a land where Hindu reincarnation dominates the philosophical and religious landscape, whether it be Bangalore, Patna or Dhaka.
- Huddling over a computer and hanging out in a key nexus for research for innovative technologies in Singapore, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Stockholm or Abu Dhabi, and using the language of innovation to bring Jesus’ love to life.
- Joining the thousands of English speakers requested by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and using the stories of God’s grand purposes in the world in English to introduce the one true God who desires that all people come to worship and follow Him.
Today’s Hidden People
Just as translating Scripture into primitive languages takes years, so it will take years to incarnate Jesus into the context of the 2 billion people in the world who have no idea who Jesus is, let alone know what it is to live and love like Him. Nearly 4 billion of earth’s 7 billion live where no religious worker’s visa is possible. The sociological, economic, religious and language barriers are gigantic.
Fifty years ago, the Kayapó, Dani and Wai Wai were “hidden” peoples. Who are the hidden people today? Might they be living in the slums of the world’s greatest cities, in the high rises of affluent capitals, or in the progressive niche industries of our fast-paced society?
What is the modern equivalent of Earl and Ivy Trapp living among the Kayapó to bring the good news; or Dave and Esther Scovill incarnating the life of Christ among the Dani; or Bob and Florine Hawkins living in a hut for decades so the Wai Wai could see who Jesus is? The translators throughout Crossworld’s history are my heroes of a bygone era.
But we are still about translating — explaining something in a way that it is easier to understand. We’re looking for translators for today’s world — those who will take their profession, expertise, skill and competency and go to all nations. Not just to live, but to live and love like Jesus and explain His gospel in a way people understand, in their worldview. I look forward to seeing what the next generation of heroes will look like and how God will show His glory to the unreached through them. Will you be one of them?
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