This week, you will deliver your first speech of the course. It requires a “visual aid”: a prop or artifact to illustrate who you are, what you are like, and what you can do. As the old saying goes, “One look is worth a thousand words.” As a speaker and aural learner, I am not sure that is true, but it certainly helps to have a memorable visual cue to remember the words of even the most gifted speaker.
Last week, we heard about Moses going to the Pharaoh to deliver a speech that would shake the Egyptian nation. God provided Moses with some pretty powerful visual aids for his speech: the rod turning into a snake, the healthy arm turning into a leprous one, and the Nile turning into blood.
God continued to speak throughout the Old Testament with signs and wonders. Never did he speak more eloquently than when he gave the best visual aid of all: his only Son delivered to a manger in Bethlehem.
Jesus often used visual aids. For example, when the disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus brought a little child right into the circle. “If you want to be great, you must become like this little one,” he told them. What a powerful picture! To be great you need to be small. To be strong, you need to be weak. You must give up your pride and self-interest and, like a little child, be humble, guileless, and trusting.
On another occasion, Jesus gave the disciples a talk on paying taxes they wouldn’t forget. He told them to throw a line into the lake and the first fish they caught would have a coin in its mouth. “Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours,” he said (Matthew 7:27).
And, of course, who can forget the time when Jesus illustrated his points about taking care of needs by multiplying the loaves and fishes to feed 5000 people (Matthew 14: 13-21).
Jesus was a master speaker through stories, illustrations, and visuals. Consider how important it is that we convey the message of the Kingdom in memorable ways that will compel others to listen and take action. It takes thought and planning.
How do we represent Christ? How are we an “illustration” of his goodness and love in this world?
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