Letters

Today’s message was written by Rev. Dr. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

Letters play a major role in our lives: love letters, letters of encouragement, critical letters, business letters, newsy Christmas letters. Letters give people a lift or a letdown. Letters may also bring a smile, even when written in all seriousness. I read of the wife and daughters of the brand new pastor who sat in the same pew each Sunday with a dignified elderly couple. After several weeks of exchanging nods and smiles but with no introductions, the pastor’s wife received this note from the elderly lady:

“My dear, I’ve enjoyed worshiping with you and your precious children. And, I
want you to know I’ve been praying a special prayer that the father of these
lovely children will agree to come to church with you some Sunday.”

The New Testament letters of Paul, Peter, and John, serve as the inspired means through which we may discover who God is, what he has done for us through his Son, and how the new life in Christ is to be lived. These love letters from God tell us of a love from which nothing can ever separate us. During this Advent/Christmas season, I propose that you write a letter to God. In other words, write God a “thank you” letter. Let your letter be motivated by what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8:9:

“Do you remember the generosity of Jesus Christ, the Lord of us all? He was rich
beyond our telling, yet he became poor for our sakes so that his poverty might
make you rich.”

Let us pray: Thank you God for our lives, for your love, for our families, for your church, for our friends, and for your Son, our living and risen Lord. We pray in his name. Amen.