She loves to hear my real stories of Him who speaks in the heavenly tongue of truth and rescues, rules, and woos. She wants to know the King, too. She is learning to personally meet with Him in stillness. She is looking to find herself in His story. And she believes me, her phonics teacher, that the language of His love can also be learned, His voice can be heard through His heart written down.
So she asks in childlike faith and curiosity big questions of a big God. There is no pretense of understanding these difficult things, simply a desire to know.
She writes:
"Dear God,
Why do I need to love my enemy?
Why do You love Your enemy?
You are God, so why do You love?
The End"
She knows the handwriting of the response is mine. She knows I will also show her the scriptures directly from His word love-letter to her. She trusts me in the role of translator.
His word rarely says easy things. But she isn't interested in easy. She is interested in real.
"My precious daughter Selah,
I know it is not an easy thing to love your enemy. Sometimes it may even feel like it is so difficult and painful that you are suffocating. The hard, good truth is that it takes a cross to really love. And I know a cross can be exhaustingly suffocating. But understand that it is your old self that is being crucified with Me...you are not alone in this struggle... so that you will no longer be a slave to sin.
I urge you to pick up your cross, this cross of loving like I do, and follow me. Yes, you will have to deny yourself, but if you lose your life for Me--you will actually be saving it! When you lose your life for Me, you will find it.
I want you to understand that if you choose to follow the ways of this dark world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, who is the prince of this world, who is the spirit that is now at work in those who are disobedient... that you will be choosing death. You will be dead in your transgressions and sins.
I want you to choose life that you may live! It will be a choice to follow my ways and love as I have loved you. I want you to pray for those who persecute you. I want you to love your enemies, do good to them, and listen for My voice and be willing lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your reward will be great! You will be showing you are my daughter!
Because I am kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as I am merciful. Forgive from your heart, as many times as you are sinned against. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? You, and your enemies, are saved by grace through faith. And I do not show favoritism.
You also asked Me why I love. I do not love you because of what I get from you. I love you deeply regardless of your abilities or skills. And I do not love you because I need something from you. I do not need anything from you.
I do not love you less if you don't obey me perfectly. You could commit the worst sins against me, you could even curse me and kill me and I would still die for you and forgive you out of My unchanging, steadfast, unfailing love for you.
I want you to understand-- loving you is not just something I do. It is Who I AM. I am Love. I will not stop being Who I am. I will always love you.
I created you. You are delighted in and rejoiced over. You are My child.
So listen to Me my beloved child, I want you to love your enemies even as I have loved you. I tell you this so that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete!
Love,
Your Father, The King, God"
Her quiet time letters challenge me in huge ways to focus on His voice through His word.
*This is Day 7 of a 31 Day Series to focus. You can view the other days here.*
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