Devotional: Dios Te Bendiga

Dios Te Bendiga

"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him" (Romans 10:12).

I recently returned from my first missionary trip. I was blessed to travel to the country of the Dominican Republic with a wonderful group of men and women that love God and His people. This scripture from the Book of Romans probably sums up my overall perspective of our trip. Although I could not speak the language, I was so amazed at the universal language of the Spirit of God. While in their churches, I was not able to sing along with them in the natural, but I would lift my voice anyway as I sang with the melody in the Spirit. As we all sang our praises to God, I was overwhelmed with the revelation that "...the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him."

There is a universal language that goes far beyond any natural language that man may speak. It is the universal language of love. The Bible says that "...the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5). We say that we understand this, but I was blessed to have experienced it. We tend to read God's Word for ourselves and forget the incredible expanse that His Word reaches. The peace of God that ministered to your soul in your distress reaches the down and out on foreign soil as well. No wonder God said, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 2:2). It's a beautiful thing to get a God's-eye view of the world. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)!

I understand that when Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel..." He was referring both to the wide, wide, world in which we live, as well as our own little world that is individual to each of us. There is a little world that I operate in on a daily basis. I come in contact with all kinds of people in my comings and goings in my little world. This is not a new revelation. I have often encouraged others to not wait until they can go to the mission field to apply this scripture. When Jesus said go, He meant go! So go to work, go to play, go to school, go wherever it is you go, and preach the gospel. I will forever treasure my experience on foreign soil, but if anything it has given me a new perspective of who I can reach. My neighbor across the street may speak my earthly language, but do they know the universal language of love that comes from the Father of light?

In the Dominican, the Christians (male and female) would all greet each other with a cheek kiss and this phrase, "Dios Te Bendiga" which means "God Bless You." It was a universal expression of love whether you understood the language or not. I quickly learned what it meant, but even before I did, the love that knit our hearts together was realized because it is the same Holy Spirit within us expressing the love of the Father. During many of our times of worship, we would sing, "Hallelujah" which is a universal word. I teased with some of our team, "Let's sing Hallelujah... now in spanish... Hallelujah!" It was funny, but my point was that we're not that much different. Hallelujah is a phrase that expresses our love and gratitude to God. Regardless of your native tongue, every born-again heart desires to sing, shout, dance, and cry "Hallelujah" to the God of our salvation!

"There are neither Jews nor Greeks, slaves nor free people, males nor females. You are all the same in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Wherever I go, God has given me opportunity to share the gospel. Within our own communities, there are a diversity of people who think that they can only relate to those of the same status as themselves. If they're poor, they relate to the poor. If they are rich, they relate to the rich. If they are educated, if they are white, if they are black, if they are hispanic, and so on and so on. This is not true! "He wants all people to be saved and to learn the truth" (I Timothy 2:4). And once saved, we have all been given the same Holy Spirit regardless of your language. I have come to realize that I may speak the same natural language as my neighbor, but the message of love that God has given Christians to speak in His Name may be foreign to others just as the spanish language was foreign to me. But the love of God breaks all barriers for "...He is our peace and in His body he has (all) people one by breaking down the middle wall of separation that kept them apart" (Ephesians 2:14).

So I encourage you to take a mission trip! But don't wait until then to cross the street and share the love of God with your neighbor, whether they look like you or not, whether they speak your language or not. He said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Proclaim the gospel by telling them "Dios Te Bendiga!" In other words, God Bless You!