Have You Read God’s Love Letter? (Writer's Opinion)

By Carol Round, Special to ASSIST News Service

CLAREMORE, OK (ANS – February 21, 2016) --“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins”—1 John 4:10(NLT).

As long as I can recall, I have loved reading. My love affair with books began with my mother’s reading aloud to me. As an elementary student, my reading habits often got me into trouble. Instead of paying attention to the teacher, I would squirrel away my library book behind a textbook.

My tastes in reading ran the gamut from mysteries to science fiction. My mother often caught me hiding under the bedcovers at night with a good Nancy Drew mystery, using a flashlight to read the words penned to capture a child’s imagination.

As a child, reading was an escape from the world into an imaginary one set in different places and different times. I still love reading make-believe stories today. However, fiction is not my only source of reading material.

Recently, while donating some used books for resale at our local library, I was asked to pose for a photo with my favorite book. The Friends of the Library is using the event to spark interest in reading. As I pondered the question, I tried to remember some of my favorite books. My mind recalled some childhood as well as adult books I had thoroughly enjoyed. But were they really my favorite?

I could recall one historical fiction book I had read more than once as a young adult. But was it my favorite? I struggled to remember books, often page-turners, which I couldn’t put down until the wee hours of the morning. If you’re a reader of mysteries or suspense novels, you understand. You don’t want to quit until you discover the one “who did it.”

However, I had an “aha” moment as I stood there in the library lobby. I realized my favorite book is one I read each morning—God’s Holy Word. Then, I began to consider why it’s my favorite.

While I can escape from what’s going on around me in a fictitious world, God’s Word is alive, bringing encouragement to carry me through the day. His written word is for each of us. It’s not just a book of do’s and don’ts, but rather a love letter to His children.

President Abraham Lincoln once said, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.”

The message He wants to communicate is one of love, forgiveness and redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Christian author Jerry Bridges once said, “God’s unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God’s love, nor does our faith create it. It originates in the very nature of God, who is love, and it flows to us through our union with His beloved Son.”

Have you read God’s love letter written just for you?

Photo captions: 1) Reading God's Word. 2) Carol Round.

Note: I always love hearing from my readers. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts at cariolaround@yahoo.com . You can also visit my blog at www.carolaround.com.