Hello, Friday! So glad you are here again! Friday is the day I join with other bloggers to write for 5 minutes flat on a common topic. No editing. It’s called Five Minute Friday, and it is always a huge blessing to me. Kate Motaung hosts it over at her blog, Heading Home.
Today’s word prompt had me baffled for a bit, but I had prayed ahead of time for the Lord to give me words to type, and I believe He has done that. So, let me throw out the word prompt, and then get ‘er done. The word prompt for today is
DEAR
Ready? Go!
As I did a word search for ‘dear’ in my online Bible study tools, I discovered something that was a beautiful reminder to me. The word ‘dear’ is used only 3 times in the entire Old Testament in the NIV version. BUT, the same word is used almost 60 times in the New Testament in the NIV. From John the Beloved, to Luke, to Paul, to the unknown writer of Hebrews, they used the word ‘dear’ freely.
That little tidbit of trivia reminds me of a huge difference in the Old Testament and the New. The Old Testament was very much about God’s relationship with His covenant people, the Israelites. Yet, they didn’t have, they couldn’t have, an intimate relationship with Him. Their relationship was facilitated by the Old Testament priest, who was the go-between for them with God.
In the New Testament, the era of Messiah, there was a great difference. Suddenly, everything became more personal, more intimate. Jesus was relational. He was a ‘with-us’ kind of God. Emmanuel. Hence, the writers of the New Testament, were relational as well. Over and over in their writing they addressed people as ‘dear’. Dear friends. Dear son. Dear brothers and sisters. Dear children.
You and I are far more prone to really hear something with our hearts when it comes from someone with whom we are in intimate relationship; , someone who can rightly say, “Dear Leah, I want you to hear this.” The entire New Testament, in fact, the entire canon of Scripture, is God’s love letter to His beloved.
Dear ________________________, I want you to hear this, to know this…that I love you and want to be in intimate relationship with you. (Fill in the blank with YOUR name.)
Have you opened God’s love letter to you recently? Have you read it? Have you allowed the lover of your soul to speak into your heart lately?
