﻿Dear Church,…(A Love Letter)

Dr. Mike Murphy
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Dear Church,
I pray this letter reaches you. Several times, myself and others have tried to contact you, but our attempts to reach you went unanswered. We worry about you, and are fearful for you. We know so well how trying these past years have been for you. We miss you, and the world is not the same without you. Despite all you have seen and gone through, you have not been forgotten. Although you may feel as if you are lost, wandering aimlessly most days, you know in the depths of your mind the path that will lead you back Home. To a Home where several of us stand, waiting and longing each day for your return. We find ourselves glancing at the path that leads to your Home, hoping and praying we will once again see your face. To see your image returning from a distance, and to find ourselves running with joy to meet you. We yearn for nothing more that to see you again, and to welcome you Home. But each day, we read the reports, and hear the news about you. News that takes you farther from us, and farther each day from your Home. News that only feeds our worries, and heightens our concerns. We see the pictures, the news clips, and we read the words of those you have chosen to spend your time with. Those who do not truly desire to know you, and are only there to use you. There to build a name for themselves at your expense. They do not love you as so many of us have. They have not heard the words that once stirred you, the hopes that once drove you, and the lives that have been touched through you. They twist the words that once called you, using your name for their own greed and their own fame. We plead with anyone who will hear that they will leave you alone, but our pleas fall on deaf ears. We so helplessly watch as more of these beasts surround you. Sharpening their fangs, ready at a minutes notice to feed off of you. I pray that you will once again cling to your past. That this letter will bring back the memories of your youth. To a day when you were still young, but showed so much promise. To a series of letters that once defined you, and served to motivate you. Letters written to you by One who will forever love you like no other ever has. Letters so touching and so beautiful, guiding you through your toughest times, and bringing you back into focus during your greatest moments. Love letters unlike others. Love letters that were mercifully shared for all to see. Words so stirring they have moved the hearts of kings and queens, and have brought the hardest of men to their knees. But letters I am so afraid that time has forgotten. Remember again the words. The words that once filled your heart, and led you to help Him forever change this world. His first letter found you in a similar situation you find yourself in today, calling you back to Him, back to the embracing arms of your first love. Words of truth that showed you the lie behind the temptations of this world, but words that showed you the promise of what tomorrow could bring. He then wrote to you again and again, encouraging you to overcome all this world may throw your way. He reminded you, that although this world might despise you, His open arms were waiting to protect you. But for Him to protect you, He needed you to return to those arms. To escape from the evil that surrounded you, and return to the comfort of His embrace. He knew how strong the hold of this world was over you, the temptations that confused you. And He implored of you to remember that first love, and to hold fast to that love. He knew that only through that love could you ever find the future your soul desired. An eternity of looking into the eyes of the One who loved you. But He worried that His words would not awaken you from the sleep this world had promised you. A sleep that would keep you from Him, not finding you waiting for His longing return for you. He shouted for you to awaken, promising that His return would keep you from the coming horrors this world had in mind for you. Horrors that only He had foretold, that the world scoffed at and denied. He told you of the home He was building for you, a glorious palace where you would reign forever with Him. But this world would not let you go easily, leaving you torn between His love and their desires. But His love prevailed as you found Him at your door, and He prepared a marvelous dinner for you. That night, your love grew, and your love for Him became the desire that drove you. Despite all the hardship and trials that was thrown at you, all who tried to destroy the love He had for you, that love continued to grow. You shared your story of His love with all who would hear, and watched as that story spread like wildfire. Soon the world would know His name, and many yearned to know and experience His love. As the story of His love grew, your name also grew. Countless numbers flooded to you, so they could hear and know more of this story. But the world continued to despise you, envious of the love He had for you. Despite the obstacles the world placed in your way, you continued to spread the story. Spreading the message of His love for all to know. But the world continued to loathe you, and decided if they could not stop you, they would change you. They looked for ways to influence you, to confuse you, to dilute the message He had given you. As days turned to years, we watched as the world sank its’ teeth in you, looking to control you. We watched each day as it drew you farther and farther away, until one day you had completely lost sight of your Home. As I stand today with the One who loves you, the only One who truly knows you, I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss you. I long to see your face one last time, to hear you again speak of the truth and purity of the love He has for you. As I look into His eyes, I still see the love He has for you. In His voice, I hear the worries and concerns He has of you. And in His touch, I feel the longing He has to see you again. So many days, several of us have searched for you, looking this world over trying to again find you. A few times we have thought we had a glimpse of you, but soon realized it was just another who was trying to look like you. Everywhere we go, we call out for you, but our voices have become echoes in the silence of this world. We live in a day, that cries out for you. A day that needs your voice more than ever, that needs nothing more than to hear the story He gave to you. I pray each day for you, that you will distance yourself from the ones that hide you, the ones that use and manipulate you, and the ones who look to silence you. I pray you will find yourself free from the shackles that now bind you, the shackles that you freely choose to place yourself in. We all need you. I beg of you, please come Home!