Love Letter
What is the purpose of a love letter? Weblog The Art of Manliness has a great article about how and why men should write love letters. They say, “It has been the way to go for millions of men throughout history to confess or reiterate their feelings of love for another...But as the sex that has historically been the ‘pursuer’ in the relationship and often has trouble vocally expressing their feelings, writing love letters have traditionally been the purview of men.”
It is interesting that this is something God was telling me about my writings for Him. What I write here in my blog or in my journal during time alone with Jesus, is a love letter. Or at least it should be, for me. But I know in myself that deeper and more meaningful truths are revealed as I write, and it can sometimes be more difficult for me to verbally share these thoughts. I don’t talk to people in my classes enough, and certainly don’t share my faith with them enough, and there are so many friends I have around the world (OK, mostly just Michigan and Russia) that I don’t stay in touch with as I should, as I would like. I don’t always say the things to these people that I would like, and when I do talk I often feel like what I say is just wordvomit. But I know that despite this, I can organize my thoughts much more clearly in writing, and I know that many of these people I don’t talk to do read this blog, and they have told me how much they like it, how it speaks to them.
But since the very beginning, this blog has not been about others seeing it, about seeking the satisfaction of people telling me they read it. It is about Jesus, Him and Him alone. Because of the incredible changes He has brought into my life since coming to Texas A&M two years ago, I want others to know this. And just as famous men throughout history have kept and had published the love letters they wrote to their wives so that others may see and learn about relationships from how they lived theirs, I want others to see the way I love my God and have it change them, help them learn what I have learned. But at the heart of it all, if not a single person read this blog, I would still be writing, because it truly isn't about anyone but my Father. I have been blessed with a gift of knowledge and wisdom, and I am honored that God wants to read these blog posts, these letters professing my love for Him.
But if you think about it, shouldn't communication be two-ways? If a man writes a love letter to his wife, it is because he wants her to know how much he loves her, and because she knows that she is loved, she responds out of love in her own way, to show that man that she loves him too. So I write these love letters for God not because I want to show him that I love him, but because he sent me the first love letter, signed in blood. God came to earth in his Son Jesus, who lived a perfect life and died a sinner’s death, so that the wrath of the Father that I deserve would fall on his dearly loved Son. By one man’s sin we were separated from God, and so by one man’s obedience we have been reunited with God. And we know this to be true, because God gave sent us a letter of love that we can all read and believe, His Word, the Bible. So it is because I read his letter to me that I write letters to Him; it is because He loves me that I love him.
God, as the pursuer in this relationship, who sought me out when I was running away from Him, captured my attention and my heart, and this blog is just one way that I respond to this love.