Singing and Signing

One of my brightest smiles this holiday season was last week when I attended the Christmas Play at the church my daughter's family attends.  My two youngest granddaughters played the parts of angels and were among  a couple dozen other angels.  During one of the Christmas carols in the program, the angels sang and also "signed" the words to the carol.

It was a heart-warming event, but for me, (not prejudiced), the highlight were those angels singing and signing.  The youngest  angel on stage was my 4 year-old granddaughter.   About half way through their song, I noticed her "signing" was different from all the others.  At first, I felt sad for her, because all of the others were in unison and obviously signing the words of the song they were singing.

Then it hit me.  She was signing the same words to the song as the others, but she was signing left-handed and all the others were signing right-handed.   Since signing is for the benefit of the deaf, it caused me to wonder if a left-handed "signer" could be as easily understood as one signing right-handed?  Would a person with hearing loss, seeing the signs from a "lefty," be able to understand the words being signed?  We had this discussion at home a little later that evening and even wondered if it would be the same as trying to read a book with backward printing.

All of this caused me to wonder if our presentation of the gospel message is easily misunderstood causing a lack of comprehension, all because of our method of presentation.   If we are well versed in the Scriptures, yet telling salvation's message from a heart that is not 100% convicted, it is no wonder our efforts are not successful.   But there may be a better way.

Consider telling your own story.  There can be no better way to convey the message of Jesus and the power of the cross than to share with others everything God has done for you.  Tell of your life before you became a disciple of the Lord, right up through the things He does for you daily.  Tell of your victories as well as your struggles.  Testify to God's presence in your daily living.  Let there be no mistake about the ownership of your life. 

I conclude by telling you how proud I am of each of my five grandchildren.  They are all active in church and youth activities, often providing leadership within the youth groups.  Last week, I was especially proud of my two angels, not only performing in the Christmas play, but also learning to communicate with those who cannot hear.  Their hearts, so young and tender, are already actively training to be an instrument for God.

We could take a lesson from them.......and in the new year, we should!

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