Do you see it as a love letter to.....you

[wmscott]

In another thread Pocohombre asked me “Do you see it as a love letter to…you.” The following is an excerpt from a lesson I developed from several resources for a Catholic information class.

The word bible means “book” (singular), the bible is in fact seventy-two different books. The bible has many different authors and times and in many different literary styles and forms: HISTORY, PARABLES, POETRY, PROPHECY, DRAMA, PHILOSOPHY, LETTERS, VISIONS, PROVERBS, SONGS, LAWS, AND MUCH MORE.

Most essentially the Bible is a story, unlike the holy books of other religions, the Bible’s basic line is a story line. It narrates real events that really happened to real people in real history. The persons involved here include the three most important Persons of all: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is "Stories” of God’ It is also stories about us, about our relationships with God and each other. It is the horizontal (man-to-man) and vertical (man-to-God) relationships meet here and form a cross. It is a** love story**, because it is history, and history is “His story”, and He is love. Love is God’s plan and purpose in all that He does. The story unfolds in three acts, which theologians call creation, fall, and redemption. Every story ever told fits this pattern, because this is the basic pattern of all human history.

Reading the bible should be a form of prayer. The Bible should be read in God’s presence and as the unfolding of His mind. It is not just a book, but **God’s love letter **to you, it is God’s revelation, It is God’s mind, operating through your mind and your reading.

Reading it is aligning your mind and will with God’s, so your reading is your response to His mind and will. It is a fulfillment of the prayer "Thy will be done”. We should challenge ourselves to put aside fifteen minutes a day to use this fundamental aid to fulfilling the meaning of your life.

Both prayer and Bible reading are ways of listening to God. They should blend: our prayer should be biblical and our Bible reading prayerful.

The books of both Old and New Testaments are divided into three main categories; History, wisdom, and prophecy. Its history books are more than records of the past they tell us truths that are just as true and operative for the present. The wisdom books tell timeless truths that are not just for the present time but for all times. The prophets do not merely foretell the future, but “forth-tell” God’s truth for all times.

Thus the Bible encompasses past, present, and future. The whole Bible is God’s permanent prophet continually telling forth the truths we need to know to guide our road on earth to a happy eternity.

So to answer Pocohombre’s question…YES And thanks Pocohombre for asking this question and letting me get this out for all to read.

 

[cheezey]

Ah, reminds me of some lines from one of my favorite movies:

Says the priest:
“You all know what this is,” he says while holding up the Bible.
“Yes,” say the people.
But one stood out from the crowd and said,
“It’s a love letter.”
“A love letter?” asked the priest.
“Well, sure,” said the stranger. “Isn’t love God’s main message?”

A thought I’ve had for a very long time…

 

[jadamo]

Thank you for writing this! I do see it as a love letter, and funny enough, I began to see it as such while researching mormonism, lol

 

[LegoGE1947]

Thank you for writing this! I do see it as a love letter, and funny enough, I began to see it as such while researching mormonism, lol

Actually, no I don’t see it as a “love letter” to me. I see it only as The Bible.

 

[Millie123]

I’ve never thought of the Bible as a “love letter.” Although I do see God’s love for the world illustrated in the Bible. Thinking of the Bible as a “love letter” just doesn’t occur to me.
For me I contemplate more deeply God’s love for us not through the Bible but through the sacraments of the church and contemplating the mysteries of these sacraments.
I once spent over 10 years away from the church, and it wasn’t the Bible that brought me back in. But, it was my intense desire for the Holy Eucharist, and to fully receive God and his love and grace in the Eucharist. For me that is what I associate most strongly in my faith with God’s love for me, Not the Bible, but The Holy Eucharist.

 

[LegoGE1947]

I’ve never thought of the Bible as a “love letter.” Although I do see God’s love for the world illustrated in the Bible. Thinking of the Bible as a “love letter” just doesn’t occur to me.
For me I contemplate more deeply God’s love for us not through the Bible but through the sacraments of the church and contemplating the mysteries of these sacraments.
I once spent over 10 years away from the church, and it wasn’t the Bible that brought me back in. But, it was my intense desire for the Holy Eucharist, and to fully receive God and his love and grace in the Eucharist. For me that is what I associate most strongly in my faith with God’s love for me, Not the Bible, but The Holy Eucharist.

As I posted earlier, I never thought of the Bible as God’s love, and until about 12 years ago I was a life-long Protestant and knew nothing about the Eucharist. While that has changed, I still don’t associate the Scripture as Gods love.

 

[jadamo]

As I posted earlier, I never thought of the Bible as God’s love, and until about 12 years ago I was a life-long Protestant and knew nothing about the Eucharist. While that has changed, I still don’t associate the Scripture as Gods love.

I never really thought of scriptures as a love letter either until recently. It’s more than just a “letter” though, it’s more of a love story. It’s hard to see it this way in pieces of scripture, but as a whole, the scriptures tell us how God created us out of love, and continues to love us even through the fall and through our sinfulness. It’s kinda slow in the OT, but it culminates in Jesus, who is the Word of God, and shows us just how much He loves us through his sacrifice on the cross. And this love continues to this day in the Eucharist since that is Jesus with us.