"What?"
"I GOT A NEW TONGUE!" --excitedly sticking her tongue out to show me the new addition to her mouth.
My niece is something else. Honestly, I don't know where she gets this stuff; obviously not from her favorite auntie. :) However strange she can be, this excited statement made me think tonight. The Bible speaks of tongues quite a bit actually. In fact, the word "tongue" is seen in the ESV 102 times!
James 3:6 says, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." Whoa, those are pretty powerful words.
In our old nature, the only thing this tongue can do is set fire and bring death. (Proverbs 18:21) But that's not the end! As believers in Christ, we have a new nature, a new tongue! This new tongue can build up and encourage the body. It brings words of life! And in the new nature, by the grace and mercy of God, it praises our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I wish that were the end of the story. However, that won't be the case until we reach Glory in Heaven. While we do have a new tongue, we also have the old one at the same time. In this life, we have to deal with the old and new nature--a constant battle. But by the grace of God, He gives us the victory to cling to in His death and resurrection, and we can live in the new nature by His strength.
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
(2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)
Friends, you have a new tongue. How are you using your's today?
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