Love Letter To You...

 

The Father's Love Letter

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you - Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up - Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways - Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered - Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image - Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being - Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring - Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived - Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation - Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book - Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live - Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made - Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb - Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born - Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me - John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love - 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you - 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your father - 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could - Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father - Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand - James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs - Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope - Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love - Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore - Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing - Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you - Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession - Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul - Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things - Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me - Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart - Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires - Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine - Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you - Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart - Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes - Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth - Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus - John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed - John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being - Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you - Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins - 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled - 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you - 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love - Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me - 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again - Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen - Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father - Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is - Will you be my child? - John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you - Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Father, Almighty God

Self Donation

Mark 12:28-34

"One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions."

Lord, I come before you humbly. As one who has frequently fallen into sin, I am aware of my weakness. Your great love, though, assures me that your grace can keep me on the path to holiness. Lord, help me live according to the New Testament.

Getting Beyond Myself: A scribe asks Jesus a pointed question and assumes that there is only a one-step answer. In fact, Jesus goes beyond a one-step response and links love of God with love of neighbor. "Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness" (2 John 1:9). Christianity is not strictly a me-and-Jesus affair; such a faith can fall into self-centeredness and disdain for the world. We are called to be leaven in the world, to bring light to the darkness. Jesus wants us to be his arms and legs and voice in the world. Am I content to say prayers and make weekly Mass ― but to do little else? Might God be asking me to get more involved in the parish? In the school? In some kind of charity work?

The Gift of Self Is the Greatest Gift: The scribe senses that burnt offerings are not enough. Burnt offerings are something external to us. We let go of things (money, used clothes, old furniture) much faster than we let go of our time, our way of thinking. We give things but not ourselves. Am I loathe to give more of my time to help the Church? Why?

Fear of God’s Demands: The scribes understood that Jesus was raising the bar on religious observance. Sacrificing a sheep or a goat wasn´t enough anymore. Christ wanted them to give of themselves ― and that left them uneasy. The Old Testament sacrifices were giving way to the New Testament sacrifice ― the very sacrifice of self. That´s what Jesus wanted; that´s what Jesus himself gave. He gave himself up to a cross to confound our self-love. Does it scare me to die to myself? To my whims? What is Jesus asking of me that makes me uneasy?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you know it´s costly for me to let go of my own way of thinking, to give of my time. Help me realize that this may be the more perfect offering that you seek from me.