Last Sunday I got to hang out with The Threes (this is a tribe that deserves capitalization) at my church.

We were supposed to talk about how God had a message to deliver to the people of Ninevah, to be delivered by Jonah. The whale episode was not really a point of emphasis this time, but of course The Threes thought this was an egregious oversight, especially because that would mean leaving out the whole spitting-out scene. The very fact that we were eating goldfish crackers—which resemble whales much more than goldfish after all—called for spontaneous reenactment of the story, so it was only fitting we do so.

After some big fun with all that, we tried to redirect their attention back the day’s theme by having them dictate messages to us to be delivered to someone after church. The Threes were favorable to this idea, and made messages for mom, dad, pet and light saber. I understand the love of a boy for his light saber, thanks to my sons, so I took down his message carefully. This little guy didn’t really get, or maybe didn’t care, that I understood, until I started speaking back to him in Star Wars. He looked at me as if I were Obi-Wan himself. Shock and “Hey, maybe this lady gets me” was all over his bright, open face. We went on to have quite the extended conversation, and when I got to tell him that God’s message to him was that God loves him and wants to be his very best friend, I think little Luke Skywalker got it, roger-roger.

Hours later, I read the opening words of Hebrews, translated by Kenneth Wuest, Greek scholar. In many parts and in different ways of old, God having spoken to the fathers by means of the prophets. Of course I thought of Jonah, and our creative Bible teaching methods involving spewing. Would Jonah be able to laugh at all that now? Has it been long enough? His look, after being in whale gut for awhile, must have been a real attention-getter when he walked into town. Talk about creative teaching methods. So many times the stories of the prophets were themselves a part of the message.

In the last of these days spoke to us in (One who in character is) Son…

Wow.
Not in grumpy, freaky-looking, runaway prophet language,
fire and smoke language,
the language of law,
or even of nature,
or a unembodiied voice crying in the wilderness, delivering pieces of God’s message little by little, but, now—I love the way Wuest translates it—in Son.

Person Language. The “what” God was saying became a “who” God has sent. The message was embodied, walked around, accessible, spoke in stories, and looked into faces and hearts. Everything about Him was an invitation simple enough for Threes to understand.

Jesus. In Him, I hear God. In Him I find the way, truth, and life. I’m not after dogma, formula or some higher plane of spiritual existence. I’m not after Bible knowledge, spiritual gifts, wisdom, or even being an all-around better person, or any other thing at all. I am after a Person, a Someone I love and am loved by. A very best friend.

I forget, and try to run after all the things – spiritual things, good things I think I should be gaining—but in the end, I’ve just gotten either full of myself or grumpy and frustrated.

Jesus speaks in the native language God gave us all—relationship. Jesus is God’s way of getting down and looking me in the eyes, and repeating His message over and over, everyday. Be with Me, listen to My words, look at Me. And I get it, today, with a little help from some Threes, roger-roger.

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