I Love You

I do, you know. We don’t see each other now, and I have no idea if we will in the future. Our knowing each other was by chance – the right question, the right answer, and our lives intermingled.

I don’t know you as others do. You have people around you every day who love you dearly and know so much more about you than I do. They not only know your favorite food, they are apt to make it for you, where I’ve not prepared anything especially for you. But, I love you.

I’ve loved you since we met, somewhat late in life, and I know my influence is limited, so I have to give something tangible that you can return to again and again to believe I mean what I say, even if it appears to be bugging you.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 1:4 KJV)

I believe John was not speaking of his natural-born children, but those he loved. I know that’s how I would apply the verse – those geographically distanced loved ones that I may not see again except in sorrow, but really want to be together eternally. I’m prepared, but I know you are not because you have told me that you have not received the gospel Paul described:

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen … 1 Corinthians 15:1-5a KJV)

You’ve told me that you question whether there is a God, though Jesus told Nicodemus:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

If you haven’t understood that, you can’t possibly understand:

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18 KJV)

I do pray for you. I give thanks for knowing you. Knowing you has enriched my life, and I wish the best for you. Much as Jesus wanted the best for the people of Jerusalem, a place chosen by the Lord to be special:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37 KJV)

No – you haven’t killed or stoned anyone, but you have ignored witnesses to God’s love. I know they are in your life – you’ve mentioned it, I’ve seen them online and I’ve prayed often that God would send effective witnesses to you that you might come to understand what we’re telling you – we love you, and God does, too.

Between John 3:16, about how much God loves us, and John 3:18,  about what happens if we don’t accept that love, is:

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:17 KJV)

That’s what I pray for you – salvation. I do not condemn you, your lifestyle, your loved ones, your choices – I just want to look forward to spending eternity with someone I love.

I know you question our belief in eternal life. The alternative is simply nothing. If you are right, and there is nothing, neither one of us will know it. If I’m even close to right, that there is much more than these few short days, there is tremendous importance in your decision.