How do you crack a code if you don’t know the key? How do you discover the love of God if His Word is written in a language you can’t understand? And how can you help your child develop a heart that wants to be a Code Cracker for others?

Language is like a code. Letters and sounds mean certain things. If you know what they mean, you can communicate. If you don’t, you can end up feeling lost and very confused. According to Wycliffe Bible Translators, that’s a problem that faces approximately 209 million people who live without the Bible in their heart language.

What is a heart language? It’s simple. It’s the language you know the best. When a thought comes into your heart, what language is it in? When you pray or talk to someone you love, what language do you use? That’s your heart language.

Many of us recognize words in a language other than our heart language. We may be able to exchange greetings or make a purchase in another language. Some of us are fluent enough to read or write in a language other than our native one. But that is not the case for the 209 million people who need Code Crackers. Some might sit down with the written Word of God and recognize some of the words, but they can’t understand deeply all that is being said. Many others do not have access to written Scriptures. If they do happen to see a Bible, they cannot understand what a single word means. Just imagine how sad that would be. They have never had a chance to read the Christmas story. They’ve never read about Daniel in the lion’s den or heard about Jesus walking on the water. Worst of all, they don’t know that God loves them and sent Jesus to die for them.

A Code Cracker is someone who works to help decipher the code of languages so that every person can read and understand the Bible in his or her heart language. They might work in a faraway place, learning about the needs of others. They might work behind the scenes at home from a computer, designing software that will help Bible translators in the field. They might use their voices to record audio versions of Bible stories that will help others hear God’s Word clearly for the first time.

Code Crackers do all different types of jobs, from flying airplanes to writing books. You never know how God might use a volunteer who says he is willing to be a Code Cracker!

How can you and your family serve as Code Crackers from right where you are? Here are just a few ideas:

1)      Find out who still needs to have God’s Word decoded for them. You can find out more about this here.

2)      Pray together for the people in the countries you learn about. Ask God to make a way for them to have His Word in their heart language soon. Pray that God will move whatever obstacles stand in the way of getting His Word to people He loves.

3)      Pray for and write letters to someone who is serving in another country to translate God’s Word. Here is a list of people who would love your prayers.

4)      Tell your friends and your church about the need for more people to become Code Crackers. Wycliffe Bible Translators has some great ways to help you do that.

5)      Adopt a Bibleless people group to pray for until they have God’s Word in their heart language. The Bibleless Peoples Prayer Project is a special program where individuals or families can sign up to pray for one group of people until they get the Bible in their own language. It could take months; it often takes years, but just imagine how wonderful it will be for one of those people on the very first day they can open a Bible and read the words that are written inside.

Will your family help break the language code that is standing between lost people and God’s love?