S45P4 – Notes on discipleship: delivering God’s love letters
Rom. 10:14-15
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
They had spent many years studying together, working together and now ministering together. In that time, he had softened his heart not only to God but also to her. He had to admit that he had fallen in love, but she had no idea. He decided it was time to address how he felt. With pen and paper in hand, he wrote down his feelings. He wrote that his focus in all of this was always God, but he had to confess that these feelings began to surface even though he was not looking for a relationship at the time. He wrote that she made him reevaluate and reconsider how he viewed and treated women, teaching him honor and caring. He wrote that he had spent much time in prayer asking for God’s direction and feeling the prompting to pursue her. Yes, it was all laid out in those precious pages, but she would never know these things. Although he had written this letter, he never had to courage to send it; she never received the message.
Love letters are a major form of communication in the kingdom of God. God’s written word is a love letter to us, giving us a glimpse into his character, what He loves, what He hates, what He desires and what we mean to him. Jesus Christ can be seen as a love letter, a physical representation of how devoted God is to us and what He is willing to sacrifice to restore his fallen creation. When we have dreams and visions, when we exhibit the Spiritual gifts and have a hand in other moves of the Spirit, these are all love letters. And when we speak or act the love of Christ on another, being Jesus to them, that is a love letter. The thing with love letters is that they have no effect unless the message is delivered. That means someone or something must move that message along. That is where we come in. God wants to reach the lost through us, but that cannot happen unless we allow him to send us. We have to be willing to go to them with the love letters God has given us to deliver.
The question is whether we have made ourselves available to the leading or prompting by God to deliver his love letters to the lost. Even more so, we can ask ourselves whether we are actively pursuing the opportunity to do so. We are called and commanded to be witnesses of what Jesus Christ has done for us, which is a large part of discipleship. That is the universal love letter to all mankind. When we tell about the goodness and mercy the Father has shown us through the work of the Son we are reading a love letter from God. He has much to share with those He loves, and He wants to use us to deliver his message. Let us always be prepared to give the reason for this faith we have, which is the movement of God’s love toward a lost and wayward people. Father, make us people who are not only available to pass along your messages of love but who pursue opportunities to do so.