There was an interesting and somewhat frequent social phenomenon in the 19th Century regarding life in the Old West.
Many men wanted to be married and start raising families in order to establish a legacy on land they had settled in territories from from Canada to Mexico, yet there were very few unmarried women to be found.
At least the ones with whom you could start a respectable life away from the saloons.
That’s when the forerunner of modern Internet dating was established. The process was known as seeking a mail-order bride.
A man would make his interest in a relationship known to matrimonial matching services who then solicited young women willing to leave their world in the eastern U.S. — sometimes even in Europe — in order to find husbands and a financial stake in remote lands about which they had only read.
The months of correspondence that followed sometimes included no exchange of photos, but instead only of sentiments, hopes and dreams.
Did any of these matched couples grow to the point of loving each other before they met in person? Knowing how carefully chosen words from caring hearts can stitch souls together in enduring ways, I have to imagine that a number of couples were in love before they saw each other’s faces in person.
The above historical vignette came to mind this morning while reading my One-Year Bible. Here are the Apostle Peter’s words that stirred my thinking:
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:8-9)
I won’t see Jesus until I die, yet I love Him more than life itself.
My love is based on my belief in the words He has shared with me in scripture and from the Holy Spirit and that love overflows in inexpressible and glorious joy.
Though my earthly life has many elements I wish were different, the certain promise of my eternal life keeps me going toward the day when my soul changes from “saved” to “arrived.”
Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.”
Here are wonderful fruits of faith in Jesus that helps me to know Him better. Inner peace. A wonderful family and friends. A priceless life purpose. The presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
I’ve not seen Him yet these blessings are just as real as the keyboard with which I am typing these words.
Though you haven’t seen Him, I pray that you will love Him, believe in Him and be filled with inexpressible and glorious joy as you wait for the day your faith will become sight.
As always, I love you
Martin
