I fell in love through correspondence. Not online, but through paper and ink.
I met my pen-pal weeks earlier on a domestic flight. We attended neighboring colleges and reconnected over a few coffee dates before our summer schedules began. Airlines may have parted us internationally, but air letters endeared us emotionally.
The outside of our letters were nothing special. Called aerograms, they were simply pre-stamped pages, gummed on the edge to create their own envelope. They were created to carry news between nations at an inexpensive rate. But those addressed to me that summer were anything but ordinary. They weren’t mere ramblings of the day, but heart-felt ponderings with dreams, hopes, and plans peppered throughout.
When I received one, I hoped for another. With each letter, I meditated extensively upon any portion I didn’t understand. When my pen-pal quoted a book, I read the book in its entirety. When he referenced a Scripture, I studied the verse. And when he signed “with love,” I trembled with delight. I came to believe in the man through his printed word.
Years later, I still own every one of the letters. Tucked away in a battered stationary box, these Asian-stamped pages are some of my most precious possessions. Notice I say, “possessions” as I rarely read them anymore. They are still sentimental, but I no longer need these pages to learn about the author. Now, I live with him full-time.
As I hold God’s Word in my hands, I realize this too is a love letter. Written over the course of centuries, God shares His Heart, His dreams, and His plans with words that come to life as I read them.
But, does my delight match my experience with those simple aerograms? When God quotes an obscure reference, do I seek for the source? When He repeats a theme, do I stop to meditate? And when He proclaims His great love, do I tremble with praise and wonder?
One day, we will no longer need faith to see through the darkened glass of life. One day, we will no longer need hope to keep us waiting eagerly. And one day, we will no longer read of His Love for we will live full-time with the Author.
One day, we will no longer read of God's love for we will live full-time with the Author Click To Tweet
Yet until that day, we must hold to these three: faith, hope, and love, all found in the Spirit of His Word. May we fall in love with Him through reading His Words and by uttering our response through prayer. May we desire to know Him as fully as He knows each of us.
May I desire to know Him as fully as He knows me Click To Tweet