ForgottenWoman

What a Loss

When was the last time you received a genuine love letter? Think about it. Some of us have treasured letters from the past stored away in trunks or boxes. Maybe we’ve saved expressions of love from those early dating years, many of us save cards and letters made by the hands of our children, and some date way back! I’ve even framed some precious notes from loved ones who are now with the Lord. The words that they took the time to put on paper for me are irreplaceable! They speak to my heart each time I pause to read them, they encourage me when I’m down, and they remind me of what is important.

*The letters, cards, and written treasures that I’ve carelessly thrown aside, however, can’t affect my life as those saved ones do! While the spoken word is often effective at the moment, it is so easily forgotten.

It has occurred to me recently that the compilation of written communication given to us by our Heavenly Father is a treasure that we so often carelessly set aside. (And we have all received this particular letter.) If I had treated my treasured “love letters” with the same disregard that I often treat His Word, I would not be aware of the heart behind those letters. The parts of my life that have been changed by the treasured letters would not have been affected, and the relationships that resulted would be entirely different! It is because I read the letters, most of them over and over, that they were effective in my relationships: they opened doors of communication, they bridged gaps and smoothed over misconceptions, they spoke to the deepest parts of my heart and built relationships that have never returned to what they were before the reading.

My Heavenly Father has communicated His heart to me through His Word. (A love letter to us.) He then gave His Holy Spirit to guide my heart into understanding. My heart and mind are altered when I read and re-read His communication to me. My misconceptions about Him and His love for me are cleared up when I read His Words. My ability to walk with Him in knowledge is built upon my opening and reading His letter. Do I truly understand the value of this great gift?

Too often the only type of communication that we consider with our Father is the one-sided type: You know, everybody ‘prays’ when they are in need or trouble… “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray Thee Lord my soul to keep!” But the type of communication I long for us to dive deeply into is called communion: His heart to mine and my heart to His. I want to treasure His love letter to me – open it, read it, study it, memorize it. When I am soaking up His Words; then I can walk hand in hand with Him in close fellowship. That I may know Him!