DEAR JOHN:
I was just a girl of four when World War II began. Accounts of Pearl Harbor and the shrill short-wave radio broadcast that announced the calamity were frightening to hear, worsened by the emotions it raised in my parents.
To help the war effort, food was rationed. People were allotted a limited number of food stamps and tokens they could give in exchange for items like sugar, butter and meat. Gasoline, too, was rationed, so our troops had the supplies needed to win the war.
Back then, men were drafted into the military whether or not they wanted to fight. Most were young men in their late teens or early twenties. Many tears were shed at bus depots and train stations as families saw their loved ones off to basic training. Dads shook their sons' hands and gave them a hug, while mothers wept as they held their boys in their arms for one last embrace. And couples in love said their last good-byes with promises that the girl would write to her man faithfully while she waited for his return. And then they were gone.
We didn't know specifically where the men were stationed abroad. Instead, letters written on thinner paper with special "Air Mail" stamps flew to central posts abroad from which they were routed to the various military positions. At mail call, the men waited breathlessly to see if their name would be called to claim a letter from home or a sweetheart.
Those letters kept troops' hope alive and love burning in their hearts. Letters spurred the men's morale as they faced the enemy.
While some men may have received just an occasional letter or perhaps none at all, far worse were the "Dear John" letters that announced to poor soldiers or sailors that 'she' had found someone at home she was going to marry...she no longer loved her GI man.
Though girls who wrote "Dear John" letters were usually considered promise-breakers, they penned their good-byes anyway without considering what that would do to the men at the other end. They forsook future happiness for immediate pleasure.
As a now mature woman, I see a comparison between wartime and the Church. Whether or not Christians believe it, we are in a war. God created the earth and populated it with souls He wants to bring into His kingdom while they're on earth and eventually to heaven. Satan has other plans to defeat and corrupt God's purposse, and we are caught in the middle.
Becausse Jesus died and rose again, He holds the keys of death and hell. Yet He gave us instructions in Ephesians 6 to put on battle armor and to stand strong against the enemy of souls. Jesus' death and resurrection made success in that battle a real possibility. But He relies on us to go to battle and to win!
Then, too, as His lover, Jesus relies on our love to grow and wait in watchful anticipation for HIm to return for us in the Rapture. He has given us His love letters in the word of God. As we read and study the Bible, the Holy Spirit highlights nuggets of truth and love that are special to our heart. Our love deepens as we look forwrd to the day when we will be united with Him forever in heaven..
However, some professing Christians grow weary from waiting. Their Bible reading becomes sporadic, their prayers become fewer and less intense, and finally, they pray only on Sunday in church--if church is still in the picture.
The Bible cautions us to not grieve the Holy Spirit. How does He feel when we lose our fervor for Him? How hurt is He when we stop reading the Bible or merely skim over the words as a duty? Our love letters that should come to Him in the form of our prayers and worship grow chilly and short before they stop all together.
Jesus warned the church at Ephesus:
"...I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at the first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place---unless you repent."
If you happen to be in the dangerous position of losing your fervent love for Him, Jesus told the Ephesians church they needed to repent and do their first works. They needed to rekindle that first love they had for Him and Him alone. If this is your case, too, stir yourself up before Him. Confess your coldness and following after other "guys", idols, on this earth. Ask Him to warm your heart once more and restore the joy of your salvation again.
If you seek Him with all your heart, you WILL find Him!