More Than Translation: The Identity Gap No One Is Talking About
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Who first helped you understand who you were?
A parent? A teacher? A pastor?
We all receive our sense of identity from somewhere. From words spoken over us, to the communities we belong to, and the language that formed our childhood prayers.
Language carries belonging, and belonging shapes identity. For Christians, our truest identity comes from what God says about us. We learn who He is and discover our identity before Him, through His Word.
But today, more than 3,000 language communities still live in Bible poverty, without access to a clear understanding of God’s nature or of their identity.
If we stop and think about it, Bible poverty is both a translation gap and an identity gap.
How can someone understand who God is, or who they are before Him, without hearing the Truth in words that reach their heart?
When God Speaks in a Heart Language
Heart languages carry culture, memory, and meaning. They are the languages people use to express their deepest emotions and beliefs. A person’’s mother tongue holds his or her beginnings, the place where identity takes root and grows.
When God’s Word communicates in that language, everything changes.
A translation team in Kenya witnessed this firsthand as members shared newly translated Scripture with their families and community members. The responses were deeply personal. Many said hearing God’s Word in their mother tongue made the message feel closer and clearer, as though God Himself was speaking directly to their hearts.
Familiar words brought fresh understanding to passages they previously read before in other languages. The Bible’s message felt personal.
Chosen, Loved, and Called to Be Holy
During one Scripture-sharing session, an elder named Petros reflected on Colossians 3:12: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
When this interested man heard the phrase “clothe yourselves” in his language, Petros immediately pictured putting on traditional attire, clothing that represents dignity and respect in his culture.
For Petros, holiness changed from an abstract idea to something visible, like putting on his traditional garments each morning. Practical. Something lived out daily.
“These virtues are not just ideals,” he explained. “These truths are how God’s people live.”
In another session, a translator shared how Colossians 1:13–4 affected him when read in his dialect: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
The word “rescued” brought back a childhood memory of being saved from danger. For the first time, this amazed translator felt the personal nature of Christ’s redemption. He spoke of a renewed sense of belonging, truly understanding he had been brought into God’s kingdom.
In moments like these, identity shifts.
When believers hear the Bible in their language, they begin to see who God is and who they are in relation to Him.
Growing Into Who We Are
Christians across every culture share a beautiful identity. We are chosen and dearly loved. As He is holy, He is making us holy.
Holiness is about becoming more like Jesus. This lifelong journey is shaped by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
But how can someone grow into Christlikeness if he or she cannot fully understand His Word?
Bible poverty limits that growth and discipleship. Without Scripture in a language that reaches the heart, the gospel remains distant, and identity in Christ feels unclear.
When Scripture becomes accessible, believers begin to understand not only who God is, but who they are becoming.
That is why Bible translation matters.
Responding to Bible Poverty
Indigenous Bible translation answers this call by equipping local believers to give God’s Word to their people.
The Word for the World responds to this need by training and empowering indigenous translators in all aspects of Bible translation. We invest in communities, provide Bible translation training, resource teams, and build sustainable infrastructure so that the work continues until all language communities have access to Scripture.
When local translators bring Scripture into their heart languages, communities encounter Truth in words that feel like home.
And Holy Spirit-led identity begins to take root.
Forever Changed
The journey of becoming like Jesus is not a passing phase, nor is it quick. Being a child of God is rooted in something lasting and unchanging.
God’s Word is not seasonal. Truth does not fade with time or culture. Disciples need His lasting Word.
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” – Isaiah 40:8, NIV
When this enduring Word reaches a bibleless language community, lives are changed, not only in a moment of salvation, but over a lifetime of growth.
When you partner in this work, you introduce someone to the Voice that tells them they are chosen, loved, rescued, and being sanctified.
Please pray for those receiving Scripture for the first time. Pray they would grow in faith and in understanding of who they are in Christ. Pray for God's Word to continue changing hearts and anchoring identities for generations to come.
Because when the Word reaches the heart, everything changes.