This last week, I’ve had the privilege of doing something I rarely get to do these days: teach a class allocated to me! This year, I’m teaching German to Year 7s and 8s for a little while. German is one of my mum’s two heart languages – those she spoke first in her childhood home. From the day she was born, she learned both German and Czech. She taught me German alongside English when I was a pre-schooler; my brain wiring is there, and back comes my German language skills every time a school asks me to fill in, while they find a way through their timetabling conundrum.

In our school community, there are many, many heart languages spoken in our homes. This means that these languages are first spoken by our children in their homes before they come to school; a conservative estimate is that, amongst our current households, as many as 100 different languages are being spoken. The amazing thing is that God created them all! And we can worship Him in all of them – no matter where we are, and who we are with.

I’ve done a quick survey – and grabbed about 20 of ones I’ve seen evidence of in our community most recently. If yours is not there, maybe you could share Micah 6:8 with me – send me an email with it – as it is said in your heart language. I’d love that.

When our families focus on our school motto, if they say it in their heart language, it may well look and sound very different to our English version (found at the end of the article, and on Building A, on the wall near the Year 5 & 6 stairway and entrance).

In God’s heart is a desire for us to live as He spells it out, through the teachings of the prophet Micah, as recorded in Micah 6:8.

That’s God’s heart, and He uses every language, including yours – whatever that may be.

Read on, and appreciate how amazing our world’s languages are.

Hy het jou bekend gemaak, o mens, wat goed is; en wat vra die HERE van jou anders as om reg te doen en liefde te betrag en ootmoedig te wandel met jou God?

قَدْ أخبَرَكَ اللهُ مَا هُوَ صَالِحٌوَمَا يَطْلُبُهُ مِنْكَ:أنْ تَعْمَلَ بِحَسَبِ العَدلِ وَالمَحَبَّةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ،وَأنْ تَحيَا بِتَوَاضُعٍ مَعَ إلَهِكَ.

ሰው ሆይ፤ መልካም የሆነውን አሳይቶሃል፤እግዚአብሔር ከአንተ የሚፈልገው ምንድን ነው?ፍትሕን ታደርግ ዘንድ፣ ምሕረትንም ትወድድ ዘንድ፣በአምላክህም ፊት በትሕትና ትራመድ ዘንድ አይደለምን?

Der Herr hat euch doch längst gesagt, was gut ist! Er fordert von euch Menschen nur eines: Haltet euch an das Recht, begegnet anderen mit Güte, und lebt in Ehrfurcht vor eurem Gott!

¡Él te ha mostrado, oh mortal, lo que es bueno!¿Y qué es lo que espera de ti el Señor?:Practicar la justicia,amar la misericordiay caminar humildemente ante tu Dios.

On t’a fait connaître, ô homme, ce qui est bien;Et ce que l’Eternel demande de toi,C’est que tu pratiques la justice,Que tu aimes la miséricorde,Et que tu marches humblement avec ton Dieu.

हे मनुष्य, यहोवा ने तुझे वह बातें बतायीं हैं जो उत्तम हैं। ये वे बातें हैं, जिनकी यहोवा को तुझ से अपेक्षा है।ये वे बातें हैं—तू दुसरे लोगों के साथ में सच्चा रह;तू दूसरों से दया के साथ प्रेम कर,और अपने जीवन नम्रता से परमेश्वर के प्रति बिना उपहारों से तुम उसे प्रभावित करने का जतन मत करो।

O uomo, egli ti ha fatto conoscere ciò che è bene; che altro richiede da te il Signore, se non che tu pratichi la giustizia, che tu ami la misericordia e cammini umilmente con il tuo Dio?

神は望んでいることをあなたに告げたました。すなわち、えこひいきせず、公平で、あわれみ深くあること、また、謙遜にあなたの神と共に歩むことです

사람들아, 여호와께서 선한 것이 무엇인지 너희에게 보이셨다. 그가 너희에게 요구하는 것은 옳은 일을 행하며 한결같은 사랑을 보이고 [a]겸손한 마음으로 너희 하나님과 교제하며 사는 것이다.

De Heer heeft jullie geleerd wat goed is. En dat is wat Hij wil dat jullie doen. Hij wil niets anders dan dat jullie eerlijk en rechtvaardig leven en gewillig naar jullie Heer God luisteren.

O Senhor já nos mostrou o que é bom, ele já disse o que exige de nós. O que ele quer é que façamos o que é direito, que amemos uns aos outros com dedicação e que vivamos em humilde obediência ao nosso Deus.

மனிதனே, நன்மை எதுவென்று கர்த்தர் உன்னிடம் சொல்லியிருக்கிறார்.கர்த்தர் உன்னிடமிருந்து இதைத்தான் விரும்புகிறார்.மற்றவர்களிடம் நியாயமாய் இரு.கருணையோடும் நம்பிக்கையோடும் நேசி. உனது தேவனோடு தாழ்மையாய் இரு.நீ அவரை பொக்கிஷத்தினால் கவர முயலாதே

Ipinakita niya sa iyo, O tao, kung ano ang mabuti.At ano ang itinatakda ng Panginoon sa iyo,kundi ang gumawa na may katarungan, at umibig sa kaawaan,at lumakad na may kapakumbabaan na kasama ng iyong Diyos?

世人啊，耶和华已经指示你们何为良善。祂向你们所要的是什么呢？是要你们行公义，好怜悯，谦卑地与你们的上帝同行

世人啊，耶和華已經指示你們何為良善。祂向你們所要的是什麼呢？是要你們行公義，好憐憫，謙卑地與你們的上帝同行

Објавио ти је Господ, о, човече, шта је доброи шта тражи од тебе:само да чиниш правду, волиш милосрђеи покорно ходаш са својим Богом.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Principally Thinking

'Act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God'

Issue 7 · 15 May 2025

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