Submitted by Pastor Brad Dush, Fairfax Methodist Church

Growing up, I had a pen pal; for the purposes of this article, I will call her Ms. White. I don’t ever recall meeting Ms. White. She had worked with one of my parents before retirement. In third grade, we began corresponding as pen pals as part of some schoolwork focused on writing skills. I was always excited to receive a letter from her.

We continued to write one another after third grade. We corresponded until the summer before my sophomore year of high school. One of the neatest parts of the experience was how personal and caring her letters were, even though we had never met. I would tell her about different things in life. I would send her clippings from the local newspaper when I thought about it. She even sent me some my family overlooked. I was always so excited to get home and check the mail to see if there was a new letter. Have you ever thought about the Bible as being a letter from God? Are you as excited to read the word of God, the Bible, as a letter from a pen pal? Do you ever find yourself hurrying home to crack it open? I know many of us enjoy reading the Bible, but I am not sure I have ever been as excited to read the Bible as I was to read one of Ms. White’s letters.

Then, I ran across the concept of meditating on God’s Word with the intent of letting God speak to you through His words on the page. This method challenges us to read the Scriptures knowing God penned them and not take an approach as if I were preparing a sermon. Rather than exploring the historical context, read it for the pleasure of reading as though I would a letter from a pen pal. A pen pal writes you because they care for you and are genuinely interested in your life. God truly loves me for me and is wholly interested in my life and me, making Him the Lord of my life. James W. Goll, in his book, “The Lost Art of PRACTICING His PRESENCE,” quotes one of the most influential modern theologians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Just as you do not analyze the assets of someone you love, but accept them as they are said to you, then accept the Word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart, as Mary did. That is all. That is meditation.”

I never read one of Ms. White’s letters thinking about the historical context, why she chose to write something when she did, or questioning the accuracy of what she shared. I digested the material she shared for the pure joy of it. There is a time and place to consider and approach the Word of the Almighty in a scholarly manner. However, I encourage you to read it for the simple joy of reading it. Spend some time meditating on the Word. Hopefully, you will discover God, the greatest pen pal of all time.