A Letter to a Lover

Years ago I sent this "letter" to someone. It's fictional, but ...

Dear Lover,

You have told me you love me. I'm having my doubts. Maybe we need to reexamine our relationship.

When your friends at school ask you if you know me, you deny it. I have written reams of letters for you to read, and you won't even pick them up. I offer to meet you every day and you ignore me. I invite you to my house and you won't come. I will go wherever you go, but you don't want me along. I want to talk to you all the time, but you hardly say a word to me at all. I'm deeply interested in every aspect of your life, but you don't want me meddling in your life and you don't want to know much of anything at all about me.

Are you sure you love me? I wonder if we have a relationship at all. What would you think if someone treated you this way? Would you nod and embrace it as "love"?

Usually, when you love someone you are concerned about them. You want to do those things that make them happy and you definitely try to avoid doing those things that hurt them. So why is it that you make so little effort to do anything that you know pleases me? And why doesn't it slow you at all to do those things you know will hurt me?

Sure, when you have a problem and can't find your own answers you might come to me. If something really "fun" is going on at my house you might show up, but when you do you don't spend time with me. You've glanced through my letters or heard about them from other people and picked out snazzy little sayings that you like the best, but you've never actually read them all or even examined your favorite sayings in context. Can you imagine how disturbing it is to me when you take what I said to you out of context and turn it to mean something entirely different and say, "That's what he says"? And what am I to think when the only time you acknowledge me to your friends is when you're with the friends who acknowledge me themselves? What am I to conclude when the only time you want to spend time with me is if you're trying to satisfy your few friends that want to spend time with me? What am I to think when the only time you talk to me is when you need something?

Perhaps you don't know how much I love you. Perhaps you're unaware of what I've done for you. Perhaps you don't know what I want to do for you. Maybe you don't really know how much I have to offer to you ... that I'm simply begging to provide for you.

Frankly, I'm baffled. You tell yourself that we are close and that you love me. On the other hand, nearly everything you do, say, or don't do and say tell me the opposite. You have told me you love me. I'm having my doubts. Maybe we need to reexamine our relationship. Maybe you need to ask yourself if we even have a relationship at all.

Love, God