My friend Tim Challies recently placed a ten minute video on his blog, documenting what happened earlier in 2010: the receiving of the completed translated New Testament by the Kimyal Tribe in Papua, Indonesia.
If your heart does not overflow with gratitude, or even if it does, for the Word of God that has been given to you in your language, watch this video and see through the eyes of these brothers and sisters in this tribe.
View it by yourself or with your family. Then come back to God’s Word, hold your Bible in your hand, and thank God that at great sacrifice many people long ago labored, with the empowerment of God’s Spirit, to get it to you.
As they say in the Kimyal language:
Al weig buna’ ag bulamlange
ab Domba Me ab se,
sig aga meibna’ ab,
gibna’ ab, bebnag ab, migib ab,
unum-unum se ulamla.
“To him who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb, be blessing
and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”
To the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit be glory for ever and ever. Amen!
This is the pastor’s prayer upon receiving the New Testament:
The month that you had set, the day that you had set, has come to pass today. Oh my Father, my Father, the Promise that you gave Simeon that he would see Jesus Christ and hold Him in his arms before he died. I also have been waiting under that same promise, O God. You looked at all the different languages and chose which ones will be put into Your Word. You thought that we should see Your Word in our language. Today, the day you had chosen for this to be fulfilled, has come to pass. You have placed it here in our land. And for all this, O God, I give You praise.
(The video was produced through the efforts of World Team, see www.worldteam.org.)
One of the most excellent Bible translation organizations, and the one most heavily supported by EPM, is The Seed Company. If you are looking to do some end of the year giving, or making Bible translation work a regular part of your giving, I highly recommend The Seed Company. Giving to this ministry is truly making an investment in eternity, one which we who know Christ will celebrate throughout the ages to come, when we meet and develop friendships with some of the very people who received the Word of God because of our giving and prayers.
When I finish typing the next sentence, I’m going back to God’s Word to meditate upon its precious promises. May all our hearts be filled with gratitude to God for His Word, and for His sovereign plan and the sacrifices of so many, to get it into our hands.
Photo by Hugo Matilla on Unsplash
