My mom did something really special for me right before I left for the race. As we were sharing our final meal together, she handed me a bag full of what seemed like a hundred letters. This is the best gift anyone has every given me. These mementos of my friends and family are my treasures. When I’m having a hard time, I pull out a letter and am reminded of how incredibly loved I am. I read a letter when I need to be reminded of why I’m here by those who know me best. I read a letter when I need to be comforted by the words of people who mean the most to me. I read a letter when I need a little piece of home.
So the other day I was feeling down and got up to read a letter when God whispered, “why don’t you turn to my letter that I wrote for you?” Then it dawned on me, God wrote me a letter too. A letter like the others, but better. The Bible is a love letter the Creator of the universe wrote with me in mind. He wrote it because He knows me best and knows what I need to have joy and fulfillment. He wrote it because He desires for me to know Him and know who I am in Him. He wrote it because He knew the more I learned about his character, the more I could become like Him and hear His voice. He gave me this Holy book so that I could have a piece of home. The truth is, my real home is not here on earth – it’s with the Father in Heaven. So when things get hard down here, I get to read my love letter and be comforted by the fact that this is not my home.
For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. – Hebrews 13:14
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives… – Philippians 3:20
This is what my true home looks like:
In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery (shame) against his land and people. – Isaiah 25:6-8
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” – Matthew 20:16
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21
“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” – Revelation 21:4-7
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. – Revelation 21:21-25
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9
I will leave you with this excerpt from The Blue Book by Jim Branch:
“I don’t know about you, but when I get a letter from someone that is dear to me, I do not read it like I would read a text book. I take that letter to a quiet place, where I will not be interrupted, and I read every single line, every single word. As a matter of fact, I read between the lines. I read it slowly, stopping from time to time to consider the depths of what I’ve just read. I savor it and try to enjoy every single bit of it. I read it in a way that allows me to hear the voice of the one I love in and through the text. And when I am finished reading it, I read it again, and again. I read it not for information, but for formation; not to work on the text, but to let the text work on me. I do this because of the love of the one who wrote it. I want to fully know that love. I want to be captured by that love. I want to hear and experience every bit of that love and affection. So it is for each of us when we read the Word of God. It is God’s letter of love and affection to each of us, meant to capture our hearts and kindle our affections.”
I think I’ve been reading it wrong. What about you? If you haven’t opened your letter yet, I encourage you to do so. It will change your life.
