Grace, Mercy and Peace are yours from God the Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ,
James 3:9-10
With
[the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are
made in the likeness of God. [10] From the same mouth come blessing and
cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
In the beginning
God created man in his own image, likeness,
In the image of
God he created him
Male and female he
created them. (Genesis 1:27)
You and I are made
in the image and likeness of God.
Fascinating! What a high honor!
Now, because of
sin we don’t look a lot like God, we don’t act like God, we don’t sound like
God. That image of God has been broken,
marred by sin, ours and the sins of our fore fathers and fore mothers, so much
so that it’s difficult to notice now, that we are in the likeness of God.
But still this
image of God remains in us. There is much about our humanity that shows the
image of God. Much that shows we were
made to be like God, sharing many of His characteristics.
One very
significant characteristic of God is that He speaks. He communicates. We read
in the Bible how God, in the mystery that is the Trinity, God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit, one God speaks, communicates within Himself.
Jesus the Son of God, true God, prays to His Father in heaven, even though He
says, “I and the Father are one.” The Father and the Son together send the
Spirit, telling the Spirit to go to believers as promised to comfort and
strengthen them. God speaks to Himself in Genesis chapter 1, saying, “Let us
make man in our own image.”
So it seems to be
the desire of the good Lord to have a special creation that would be like Him
and, among other things, could speak. So He created our race, endowing us with
the gift of speech: tongues and lips and throats, and brains that could
formulate thoughts and ideas and put them into words and ears that could hear
and brains that could comprehend – marvelously elaborate systems of anatomy,
physiology and psychology working together that we may, like our Creator,
speak.
We are fearfully
and wonderfully made.
But weak and lazy
creatures, as we are, we are not as mindful, not as grateful for the gifts of
creation, as we should be. We take God’s good gift of creation for granted.
Speech is a
powerful gift fo God for humanity. So when it is misused, it is powerfully
destructive.
James says it like
this: the tongue can be compared to the bit in a horse’s mouth, such a small
thing, but it can control the whole beast, or like a rudder on a ship. Small by
comparison, yet the pilot controls the entire ship against wind and wave with
small turns of the rudder.
So don’t
underestimate the power of the words you speak – power for good, or for evil.
So powerfully
important in fact, that of the 10 commandments, 2 have to do with how you talk:
the 2nd commandment, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your
God.” And the 8th commandment, “You shall not bear false testimony
against your neighbor.” The 2nd commandment governs how you speak
about God and to God. The 8th Commandment deals with how you speak
about your fellow human beings.
“How great a
forest is set ablaze by such a small fire” James 3:5. I expect most of you can
relate to this when it comes to the destruction a little gossip can bring. If
you don’t fully see it, let me suggest you evaluate your own feelings the next
time you come across a person you feel negatively about – a person you might
want to avoid if you can. Ask yourself, “Why do I have this uneasy, unpleasant
feeling about them? Are they truly evil? Have they really committed some
unforgiveable sin against me? Or is it, as I believe happens way too often, the
source of the problem, the source of my bad feelings toward this person is
coming from a third person, who whispered evil words in my ear about this one
who, as James says, is made in the likeness of God.
We should fear and
love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander
him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain
everything in the kindest way.
Use your words for
good, not for evil.
Parents, bless
your children, speaking to them the words of the Lord, teaching them to pray,
teaching them to hear and believe that God is there for them. He created them,
keeps them and saves them. When they are little we spend so much of our time
and energy thinking about what we have to provide for them, what we are to give
them, how can we afford to give them all that they need, food, medicine,
clothing, shoes, college. The best thing you have to give your children, is
words of blessing and encouragement.
Likewise with all
the other people in your life. There are many moments in life when your kind
words are the best service and the best gift you can give to your neighbor in
need. You can use your words to bless, to encourage to lift up those who have
been torn down.
Speech like that
is what you were made for. God has made us differently, with different, various
gifts. Some speak better than others, no denying that. Some can speak many,
many words. Some can speak a few words well. But whoever you are, God desires
you to speak with love. He commands you to speak kind words toward your
neighbor and words of praise and thanksgiving to Him.
We should fear and
love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by
His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
By all means,
don’t use God’s name wickedly or frivolously. Furthermore, do use God’s name,
and all those words about God, properly and well.
Pray. Praise. And
give thanks. Pray is when we talk to God. Praise is when we talk about God, and
the great things He has done, especially when others can hear.
We pray and we
praise with words that come from our hearts, speech that our sanctified minds
generates. We also pray and praise using that words that have been given us,
handed down from the Lord Himself, from the prophets and apostles and our
fathers in the faith.
We pray as we
believe.
We believe as we
pray.
Our prayer and
praise is a verbal expression of what we believe. And it goes full circle. What
we believe is built upon the words we pray and praise.
Back to that bit
about the bit -- Like a rider who guides the horse by a bit in the mouth, so
the Holy Spirit of our Lord is using simple, little words to lead you into
faith and into eternal life.
By the words of
the Gospel and by faith, the Holy Spirit is working something wonderful in you.
He is creating you all over again, creating you in a new image, in the image of
Jesus Christ. The words of the Lord build faith in you, as they teach you
Jesus, crucified to forgive your sins and risen to give you new life. In faith,
you are being conformed to the likeness and image of Jesus, that you can think
like Jesus thinks, act like Jesus acts, talk like Jesus talks.
The center of that
talking like Jesus talks is when you pray the confession of sins and hear the
absolution. When you confess your sins your talking like Jesus talks. Your
saying you’re right, Lord. Your commands are true. I have not kept them, and
so, I deserve your displeasure and punishment. I’m sorry forgive me.
And when you hear
the absolution of our Lord, you’re thinking like Jesus thinks. Hear His words,
and believe them. “I forgive you all your sins.” “This is my body given for
you.” “This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Filled
with the faith in your Saviors sacrificial forgiveness and unending love you
can now say and sing your praises to Him., knowing that’s what He wants, He
wants to hear from you, be in touch with you, be in communication and communion
with you from now and into eternity.
Last Century one
of our Missouri Synod Lutheran Professors wrote the hymn, Thy Strong Word and
in it is this prayer:
Give us lips to sing Thy glory,
Tongues Thy mercy to proclaim,
Throats that shout the hope that
fills us,
Mouths to speak Thy holy name.
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the light which Thou dost send
Fill our songs with alleluias,
Alleluias without end.
Amen.
