She read it over and over again. She couldn't believe how much he loved her; his words spoke straight to her heart. She had read it over and over so many times that she could practically say it word for word from memory. How could anyone love her the way he did?
When someone speaks to our hearts; when someone is important enough to us, we will take the time to get to know that person. Their words, spoken clearly to our hearts, becomes a gift, something we treasure deep within. I have a someone like that in my life and his name is Jesus. The words he has given to me in the Bible are something I treasure, but perhaps not as much as I should. The words in his book are his love letter to me; I want to know them more and more.
This past December I set a goal to memorize more this year, specifically to memorize the entire book of James. Thankfully it is only 5 chapters long. A couple of months ago, someone asked me what my spiritual goal was for the year, so I shared this goal. He decided he would take on the challenge as well. In the couple of months since that exchange, he hasn't forgotten. This past Saturday he asked how I was doing with the book of James. Honestly, I have been working on it. I started a few weeks ago by beginning to write it out.
I am thankful for this person who has decided to take up this challenge with me because he is someone who can hold me accountable for reaching my goal and can encourage me along the way. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed." Because there is someone who is taking up this challenge with me, I feel a responsibility to succeed. I don't want to know what it would feel like to have him accomplish the goal and not be able to say I did it as well.
Far too often when we are alone in a project it is easy to let it slide, to let it fall by the wayside. I don't think this is going to be one of those goals for me. This one is going to be accomplished. I absolutely love the message in the book of James, so for me it is part of the love letter that Jesus has given me, a part that I can't wait to learn.
Tonight as I sat at dinner, I finished writing out the last couple of chapters so that I could begin to work on the actual memorization part. Before I left the table, I had pretty much memorized the first 8 verses of James 1.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings....
Okay, so it wasn't perfect the first time around, I checked, but it's a start. Oh how I love this Love Letter!
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