Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Rewrite of letter from God

I have seen the follwing "note from God" in several variations:
Good Morning, This Is God! : I will be Handling all Your Problems Today. I Will Not Need Your Help -- So Have a Good Day. I Love You!
It's a very comforting little piece, but I'm not sure it's very accurate. I have rewritten this "note from God" to reflect the reality of biblical revelation and life on this fallen planet. Although it's a little longer, I believe it more accurately reflects the truth. Here it is for your thought, reflection, reaction:

Good morning,

This is God. I will not be handling all your problems today. How would you ever grow strong if I did that? What kind of loving parent solves all problems for their children? If earthly parents know that their children need to grow through their problems, how much more do I know that handling your problems for you would keep you from the growth I desire for you?

No, your problems are your problems and you have to take responsibility for your decisions. However, you should also remember that I will never leave you or forsake you. I am with you always. Just because you do something stupid or wrong, that doesn’t mean I’m going to walk away from you and leave you on your own.

And though I generally won’t rescue you from the earthly consequences of your decisions (because I love you!), my son, Jesus Christ, has already taken the eternal consequences of your sin on his own shoulders. The train you are on leads straight to my door and I am thrilled! You will be with me forever where your brokenness – in fact, the brokenness of the whole world – will be undone. What you see as death is actually birth. You can’t understand it any more than a baby in the womb can understand the world of light and air. Trust me, it will be better than you can imagine.

But, for now, you are on the broken earth. You will reap what you sow. And, unfortunately, you may also reap consequences from other people’s poor or evil decisions. Here is what you need to know: You are my child because of what Jesus did. Now, even though I won’t solve your problems, I will redeem them. Your life, even your mistakes, even the times you choose evil, are part of a tapestry of history more complex than you can hold in your little brain (sorry about the “little brain” thing, but it’s true :-). My dear child, the very essence of your life is safe in my hands. Today I free you to love with wild abandon! Let it go! You’re not on earth all that long in the grand scheme. Don’t think your decisions don’t matter, they do. But don’t put too much weight on them, either. Seriously, my precious little one, do you think you can derail my plans? There’s more going on that you will ever know. Follow Jesus and you’ll do fine. I love you more than you can understand. I love you with all my heart.

Love, Dad (a.k.a. God, Maker of All, Lord of the Universe, etc.)

P.S. I snuck in while you were sleeping and watched you breathe for a while. You are so beautiful. You really are the apple of my eye.

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