Dear Friend,
When I was 12, I received a telegram from my “Auntie M” in New York City telling me to “break a leg” in my latest musical performance in small town U.S.A. It was exiting to receive such an encouraging message in a unique way from a person who loved me and who—wow—lived close to the real live Broadway! I mean, she could have just called, but she sent me something really special: a telegram.
Fast forward a few years, and I’m sitting in a freshman communications course in college. “Every message,” the professor says, “has a sender, intended recipient, medium, code, content (message), and purpose.”
So, I’m thinking about my telegram and realizing it broke down this way:
Sender = Auntie M
Recipient = 12-year-old wannabe thespian—me!
Medium = Telegram (a medium which, apparently, has gone the way of the Dodo bird)
Code = Morse Code translated into the English language
Content (Message) = “Break a Leg! Love, Auntie M”
Purpose = Auntie M had a reason for sending the message, presumably to encourage me
Rewind a few thousand years back, and a powerful king might have wanted to send a message to a faraway land. He wouldn’t just go himself; he’d take off his signet ring, give it to his most trusted representative, and entrust this emissary with the message. The accounts of Nehemiah 2:7-9 and Esther 8:10 contain such descriptions. Regardless of the content of the message, the recipients of the message would certainly listen carefully and fulfill the royal wishes because the emissary spoke with the authority of the king.
When God wanted to send a message, He sent his beloved Son, Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
We can break it down this way:
Sender = God
Recipient = “Whoever” (i.e. all of humanity)
Medium = Jesus himself (Fully God, fully human. “If you’ve seen me, then you’ve seen the Father.”)
Code = Hebrew and Aramaic
Content (Message) = Jesus’ very first sermon was: “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:14. In other words, “The Kingdom of God is here because the King is here!” In John 3:16, the message is that if we believe in Jesus, we can live life close to the King, enjoying his presence, his guidance, wisdom, provision, and grace both now and forever. Either way you slice it, the content of the message is GOOD NEWS!
Purpose = John 3:16 is super clear about the reason God sent the message: because He LOVES us!!! It’s hard to grasp it on a deep level, but everything in the Bible points to the fact that He loves us. Not just humanity in the abstract – but you and me. He moved heaven and earth to remove the obstacle of sin. How? By sending Jesus to die on a cross, facing the consequences of our sin. Why? Because He couldn’t wait to be with us, to spend time with us, to hang out with the kids He loves. So, He kicked sin to the curb once and for all. And now He embraces you and me with an undying, never-ending LOVE.
Jesus, it turns out, was not just the messenger. He was also the message. Jesus’ life, his way, his manner of loving—that is the message. His miracles, his healings, his full-of-grace-and-truth teachings are the message. His death for us and his stop-the-presses resurrection(!) are the message.
No wonder John described Jesus as “the Word”:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
One mind-blowing idea here is that Jesus is the “word” or message people were intended to “read.”
When we look to Jesus, we can see what God is like. Want to know how God feels about you? Look to Jesus. Want to know if God cares about you? Look to Jesus. Want to know how God is ultimately in the business of restoring all things? Look to Jesus.
So, Dear Friend, as the recipient of God’s Love Message, how do you respond?
Love,
Your Friend
Ponder. Pray. Practice.
Take any message you have received lately (text message, grocery list, utility bill), and—just for fun—analyze the sender, intended recipient, medium, code, content (message), and purpose.
Do the same analysis of one story from the Bible. Why did God include this particular story? What message can I get from it?
When you read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), what’s your response to the Sender?
Considering the nature of the Trinity (mind-blowing, right?), why do you think God essentially sent Himself as the Message?
If someone in your life doesn’t seem to be “getting" your message, what do you do?
How has God been trying to “get your attention” lately? What messages has He been sending? How have you responded? Talk to Him now about it.