Acts2:1-4
Acts 2 is basically a reversal of Gen 11... Gen 11 is the story of the Tower of Babel where humankind thought they could be like God. Building and scheming they were convinced that they didn't need Him any more - they could be independent and self-contained. They had "outgrown" their need for God."
God graciously intervened in this colossal foolishness by confusing their languages. My initial response to this was - "So? Big deal! So He slowed them down - they'll just settle on one language or develop a meta-language (like the "funnagallo" that developed on the mines)." But they didn't - the truth is interesting - people clung to their languages - unwilling to pursue a joint goal if they had to sacrifice "their" language. The Tower of Babel was never completed.
Language and culture are powerful dividing agents. At Pentecost the disciples were divinely enabled to speak other languages. If you read down a few verses, you'll see that they were able to impact the cosmopolitan group that had assembled in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.
Not only has Christ's death "broken down the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2) between races and cultures but the Holy Spirit helps us bridge the divide between me and my fellow human being.
Martin Luther King Jnr once said that Sunday mornings were the most "segregated hour" in American life. Fortunately this is changing. The key is surrendering to the wonderful gracious working of the Holy Spirit who will bridge the gap between ourselves and others. But if we go back to arrogant independence we are back at the tower of Babel.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
