The Ultimate Love Letter

The Ultimate Love Letter

"The Bible is like a love letter, until you actually encounter the One that it is talking about, you really don't understand the letter.” (Elmer Colyer ).

A good friend called me a while back upset at something he heard a well-known Christian leader say about the Bible. This person claimed the Bible was not an instruction book; it was simply a narrative of God’s love for his people. My friend went on and on about how frustrated this made him fell and how wrong this Christian leader was and then he said, “Rick, what do you think about this statement.”

He was shocked to find I agreed with the Christian leader. However, I pointed out, I would not use the word simply. The Bible tells the story of God’s faithfulness to his people regardless of what they do. It’s a story of mercy, patience, forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption, adoption and salvation. In other words, it is the story of God’s love for you and for me.

It is the story of God’s amazing plan to share the fellowship and communion of the Father, Son and Spirit with his creation. It’s the story of God saying to his people, “I will be your God and you will be my people,” regardless of what his people do.

It’s the story of how humanity rejected that communion by saying “No” to God. And it’s the story of God saying “No” to our “No,” and rejecting our rejection. In essence the Bible tells the story of God saying, “I said ‘Yes,’ and I mean it. I am your God and you are my people. I will not break my word or my commitment because you are my children and I love you.” 

It’s the story of Jesus who redeems and reconciles us to the Father who loves us. It’s the love story of a Papa/Father who never gives up on his children.

Do you want to understand the Bible? Read it as a love letter from a Papa/Father who adores you. – Rick 

God in the Clutch

Every spring Cheryl and I watch a pair of robins make a nest in the tree just off our patio. This year, because of the mild winter, the robins built a nest in early March and by Easter the baby birds had hatched, grown and flown away. I was surprised to see the nest empty so quickly and sad I missed the young robins learning to fly.

     I thought about taking the nest down just so we wouldn’t have that mess in our tree, I’m glad I didn’t.

    A week or so after the first birds flew off, Cheryl noticed a robin in the nest again. I was surprised and figured it was a new robin taking advantage of the nest. But after doing a bit of research on the Internet, I found out robins can lay two sets of eggs (clutches) in a season if the first clutch is laid early – as in this year.

     As we enjoy round two of watching the cycle of a robin’s life, you can’t help but be in awe of the One who designed and created that cycle. God is in the clutch.

     You can’t help but be in awe of how a robin knows exactly how to build a nest; she knows when to lay her egg – mid-morning after she’s filled her belly with worms. She knows not to incubate the eggs till all four eggs are laid – one each day. Till all four eggs are laid, she keeps the eggs a bit cool so the birds don’t start to develop. This way all the birds develop together and are born the same day.

    The mother robin knows to carefully use her beak to turn her eggs each day so the babies stay warm and don’t stick to the sides of the shell. She also knows when the eggs are getting too warm and she moves around to keep them the same temperature. When the babies are born, she shelters them and she and the father feed them several times a day.  The father also often feeds the mother when she is incubating the eggs.

     When the small robins leave the nest the father stays close to them for a few days to keep them safe. All this knowledge we call instinct. If God takes such good care of robins, imagine his love for you.

The "Other" Side of Papa/Father

Jesus revealed the Father, but he did not reveal the Father as a masculine “He-man.” Quite the opposite in fact. In one case God is described as a mother hen who gathers her chicks. Jesus was emphasizing what we learn from the very beginning of the Bible: “So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female.” (NCV)

     Both men and women are created in the image of God.  This means femininity is as much a part of God’s nature as is masculinity. The Bible refers to God as one who is tender, compassionate and protective of the young – characteristics we often associate with motherhood.

     Together men and women make up what you might call a composite image of God. In marriage, you learn how the other half of the image of God thinks and learns and responds and acts. The French say, “Viva la différence”, reminding us to celebrate the uniqueness of men and women, because together we reflect the image of God.

     When we think of Papa/Father in terms of motherhood we see the following characteristics:

     The love of a mother is a child’s foundation and it is basic to the nurturing of life. This is also true of God’s love.

     A mother’s love is unconditional, as is God’s love.

     A mother’s love is sacrificial, and we see the same in God.

     A mother will lay down her life for her child. This love comes from God who did lay down his life for us.

     God, who created male and female in his image, is the highest, and most perfect expression of what is masculine and what is feminine. All things that make a woman beautiful, tender, compassionate, loving – in other words, feminine – comes from God the Papa/Father who created her in his image.

    May each of us give God praise for women and may we honor all women, whether or not they are mothers and grandmothers. Let’s honor them for being the image bearers of God that they are. Happy Mother’s Day to all.