(Finished March 2021)
Justus’ Letters
Before we left for PA, we studied the alphabet thoroughly with our son, Justus. He was becoming very confident in his mastery, but 2 years old was still too early to understand how letters fit together to make words. When we began packing for the move, we packed up those lessons, too, and settled for the good old ABC’s song to keep them in his memory. When we finally made the move, we returned the letter magnets to the face of the fridge and the alphabet placemat for additional encouragement, but left his letter-learning quest to Father Fate (the non-existent entity usually blindly trusted for bringing good out of atrophy) and he seems to have done his job- nothing. Last week I asked Justus to name a few letters of the magnets on our fridge and he was clueless, calling out numbers and colors instead! This is a smart cookie, mind you, so he was either mischievously shooting for a reaction or trying to distract from the fact that he’d completely forgotten.
Mercy’s Letters
Patiently beckoning us at the transition doorway between living and dining room before the big move, sat a basket of letters and gifts from some of our most beloved people in Lynchburg. While my love language is not gift-giving per se, this pile was sacred and not to be torn into like a two-year-old’s loosely wrapped Christmas present. These letters were the verbal expressions from the ones we’ve loved and served for 10 years, the seeming capitalization on a huge emotional investment. Some letters were short and to the point, some rushed, some early (and, consequently, doubled- taking advantage of another opportunity to praise), some late (to produce something more purposeful and sincere). Some letters weren’t there at all. Some came in the form of conversation upon our last weeks. Some came by way of helping hands. And each word, or at least each sentiment, has been grafted in my mind to be remembered as long as I’m able.
It should be obvious, then, that my love language is words of affirmation. Some of my favorite personalities in the world are people like my dad, my friends William Wingate, Will Baker and Jeremy Leong, and my son Justus, because vocalization is part of their very being. It’s of their very essence. Their speech is almost inseparable from their thoughts. Consequently, they both always speak their heart’s intentions (which puts a suspicious, analytical mind like mine to rest) and often stick both feet in their mouths. Yet they are some of the best orators I know!
One reason their personality type works with mine is that I function oppositely, often coming to the right words only after the topic has changed. But my seeming patience and poise are admirable against their seeming wittiness … and they usually tell me so, haha!
Either way, it is because of this love language of mine that I highly treasure these letters from our Mercy family. I’ve gone through them a few times already – the long, intentional ones a bit more often than the speed-written ones – and I’ve been searching for a way to be reminded of them more frequently without overloading my office-space wall. And one day, while reading the early chapters of an 800 page systematic theology book, it hit me! A letter from a good friend or congregant who thoroughly appreciated our ministry was just what I needed in the midst of a daunting volume.
I am now using the letters as bookmarks in the course books I’m reading. As I return to a book or finish my reading for the day, I’ll reflect on precious friendships and fond memories. I’ll remember their loving actions and words toward me while we were together. And I’ll pray for them as I thank God for His provision of their friendship.
God’s Letter
In my Systematic Theology course this past semester, we took 12 weeks to investigate “Prolegomena.” I know what you’re thinking: “That’s 5 syllables!” (More like “Prego-wha?!”) Yeah, I had no clue what that meant until about 8 weeks into the course- even after they had explained its definition, etymology, function in Systematic Theology, and reasons for not coming up with an easier name! But I think I understand now. It means “first” (Greek pro) “words” (Greek legomena) and it’s a form of Epistemology (6 syllables! And the philosophical term for ‘foundations of thought and belief‘). These “first words” are the foundations for every core belief or intention and, more specifically to ministry, the foundations on which we persuade others to leave false beliefs to follow Christ. If that foundation is weak, people will either decide to disregard you, or follow you into a pit.
That said, consider this for a moment: how can you be sure of your heavenly destination? Is it because of certain supernatural experiences you’ve had in the past? Is it the daily consistency of your obedience to God? Is it simply blind faith? I hope, for your sake, that your hope rests on none of these, for they will only prove to be sinking sand for the soul.
The only stable foundation on which to stand for such assurance and hope against that most dreadful enemy, death, is the very Word from God’s own mouth.
I need encouragement from true friends. I need letters to remind me of my value and worth. I need friendship to offer me opportunities to give and receive, attaching meaning to my life. But, while these things are all daily needs they are only temporal. There is coming a day when my race will be complete. Death comes to us all. What happens after that?
Most religions address this question. Many come excruciatingly close..
If the One who made you, who lives outside of time and space but sees into all of it like a multidimensional magnifying glass, happened to tell you what’s waiting on the other side of death, would you listen? I hope so! But if you’re like me, I struggle with the lines between faith and sight like the apostle Thomas. After his friends reported the miraculous resurrection of Jesus to Thomas, he said “I will not believe unless I touch my finger to his hands and my hand to his side!” (Paraphrase from Jn. 20:25). Yet, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (v. 29).
All we have are reports now, kept in the book we call the “Bible.” And we must, like the disciples, verify its trustworthiness, and, unlike the disciples, do so without the physical evidence of Christ’s bodily presence. All we have now are God’s words, spoken and breathed out by the Holy Spirit and written by the hand of a certain, select few.
Can they be trusted? Well… what are the alternatives?
We could choose another religion and face the same questions. We could choose no religion and face the same questions… We could also just choose not to face the questions at all!
If you do plan to take courage and face the questions, though, Christian or not, you must confront the notion that resolution requires faith. We all believe that something is worth living for. Some of us believe in something worth dying for. But few of us believe in something worth dying toward. We’re all going somewhere when we die, but is that place somewhere worth existing? Most who believe in eternity might say “yes,” but I would challenge their motivations. Is it “yes” because you will finally receive all the material success you could never achieve on earth? Is it “yes” because you will finally be with those you cherished so deeply while on earth? The second is admirable and I sympathize with it, but even that is still unfulfilling. Some of my favorite people write the most inglorious letters, or say hurtful things, or forget to read my mind when I’m really trying to communicate something with body language… I need to know that eternity can provide me with something more fulfilling than all the joys life has already offered… combined! Nothing has proved completely satisfying to my needy soul, nothing other than the friendship with my Lord, Jesus Christ.
I can only know that I know that I know this kind of ending is possible by the report of his eye-witnesses, recorded in the Holy Scriptures of the Bible and both guided and guarded by the work of the Holy Spirit of God through the ages. Experiences can help confirm that truth. Obedience can help confirm that truth. But only the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that very truth. The only letter that forms the very foundation for my confidence, both in possible joy in life and in life after death, is God’s Love Letter. There I find compliments beyond compare (I’m accepted, valued, loved, known, heard, protected, and delivered) and truths which both challenge and comfort me perfectly.
The most important words ever spoken or written were not our own, but God’s. Let us not forsake to rehearse and repeat His letters to our hearts, minds and souls daily, lest we forget how valuable they truly are.
Some of my favorite passages:
”The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zeph. 3:17
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants…” John 15:13-15a
“But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out… I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” John 10:2-3, 11
“Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:1-11
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you…” Isaiah 43:1b-4a
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and ye your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?… Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ Or ‘What shall we drink?’ Or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, an your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matt. 6:26, 31-33
-And now… I need to go practice alphabet letters with Justus.
The Fowler Four 