Kind of a squishy post today in honor of Valentine’s Day…. 😉
What is it about a love letter?
How can mere words on a page make a heart race with joy or bring a tear to the eye?
Is it the carefully scripted prose…the reserve cardstock…the flow and fleurish of the pen?
While these sentiments are lovely on their own merit, what may speak the loudest is the “who”. Who is sending it and just how well the sender knows…You.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
Love letters exact the ways you are known to another person…counting remembrances, shared experiences, struggles, character traits, hopes. The depth and quality of a relationship may be directly linked to the depth of knowledge each has of the other.
Knowing and being known is at the heart of love. It is at the heart of God’s love too.
God has written the greatest love letter of all time into the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus. He did not spare his one Son in order to express His love and plan to save the objects of His affection. To those He has appointed for salvation, our name is written on the palm of His hand and written in a book called Life. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He numbers our hairs, knows our rising, our going out, our sitting down, and is familiar with all our ways. He knows our frame and remembers that we are frail. He promises to keep us unto our old age.
All of His knowing us begs the question of how well are we knowing Him? We only love because He first loved us, and our marred ways are not his ways–which are perfect. So we cannot expect that our raw affections will praise God rightly. He has prescribed to us truths we can know and love about Him…in His word. He has given us a whole book with which to know Him. Have you considered how God wants to hear of Your adoration for Him? Just as we long to hear words of knowing and being known from those we love, God desires for His people to share words of knowing Him?
God is not needy or lacking. God is entirely complete in Himself. Yet He loves to hear of our love for Him and He is surely worthy and due it. The rocks will do it if we will not.
If you are considering ways to bring more adoration and praise to your personal prayers, consider meditating on Psalm 42, Job 38-40, Isaiah 60. As you read, perhaps write down verses that strike a chord of love and praise in your heart. Pray these back to Him. Keep your church songsheets of music with you as you are doing mundane tasks at home.
He already knows Himself to be true. But He wants to hear you say it. Because when it comes through your pen or your lips, you are counting the ways you love Him and knowing more fully the ways He has loved you first.
In Christ’s love, erika
