You shall bear much fruit
You shall bear much fruit
Love letters soothe hearts and offer comfort. God's love letter does that and more. It also transforms.
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hat’s why she so appreciated the last letter she received from her husband—a letter he sent her for Valentine’s Day. That love letter would never win the Pulitzer Prize, but from her perspective it ranked as the most beautiful letter ever written. In it he professed his love for her, promising to be faithful to her in good times and bad, “as long as we both shall live.” Every day, like clockwork, she read that letter; every day, like clockwork, she served her ailing husband. Whenever family and friends suggested that she deserved a fuller life than “babysitting” her husband, she read that letter again. She never left. That love letter motivated her to love him and serve him.
The Lord’s love letter to sinners
Just like that man who wanted to assure his bride of his love, the Lord of the Church wants his bride to have no doubts about his commitment to her. Because he is in heaven and can do whatever he pleases, the Lord could reveal his love for us in many ways. He could opt to paint the words “I love you” in the sky. He could decide to appear to us, wrap his arms around us, and whisper in our ears: “You are mine and no one will ever take you away from me.” But the Lord has chosen to operate with us indirectly, for our own protection, because no one can see the face of God and live.
Though God may not appear to us directly, he certainly does profess his love for us. He gave us his holy Word—his love letter to sinners. My Bible has 1,270 pages. Have you ever received a love letter that long? Far more impressive than the length of this love letter is the beautiful message of a Savior for undeserving sinners. On page after page, the Lord says, “I love you.” By the account of Jesus’ willing suffering and death, by the announcement that the blood of his Son purifies us from all sin, by the promise of life with him in glory through faith, the Lord proclaims for all to hear: “I love you.”
That love does not find its beginning in our beauty or our potential or anything we have to offer God. If it did, God would never love us. No, God’s love begins in God. He loves because he is love. Though he needs no one and nothing to be complete, he chooses to love those who deserve his wrath. The message of God’s love, recorded in Scripture, has no equal. No one has loved us like the Lord has; no one ever will.
The Lord’s love letter transforms hearts and lives
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