Note for performance:

Simply explain to the congregation that God has sent them this letter. You may want to draw attention to the link with Isaiah Chapter 55 or you may prefer to leave that unsaid.

God's Invitation

Dear local-name Church [insert as appropriate]

I am writing to invite you to a quality of life you have long yearned for.

I know you are not satisfied with your current way of life. Despite all the good things you enjoy, you are aware that life is far from perfect. You long for life in all its fullness, don’t you? And that is what I am offering. I want to give you Life with a capital L. It’s yours for free.

All that money you work so hard to earn – where does it get you? Yes, it buys the essentials like food, shelter and clothes – and if you’re lucky a few luxuries on top – but do any of those things really satisfy you? With money, can you buy more than a fleeting taste of pleasure? I have prepared for you a true feast. The best that life has to offer. And I don’t mean in material terms. I aim to fulfil a much deeper need than mere physical cravings.

Pay attention now, because I’m about to tell you what you really need. You need to be in a vibrant, living relationship with me, your Creator, your Lover, your God.

The kind of close relationship that I had with individuals like King David is not a thing of the past. It isn’t only in history that people’s commitment to me has led to glorious new life. It happens every day. I want it to happen today. I want you to enter that same kind of relationship with me now. I was the one who made David such a powerful and influential leader. The impact he had on his own nation and the surrounding nations was due to my presence in his life. I realise most of you don’t see yourselves as charismatic leaders, but there is nothing to stop your church having the same kind of impact on the local community that David had. If you will let me work with you and through you, then my holiness and my glory will be like a beacon of light attracting new unfamiliar faces into your midst.

I said that glorious life was yours for free, and I mean it. There is no cost. But you do need to come to me to receive the gift. And turning towards me does involve turning away from hurtful actions and selfish thoughts. I’m offering you a radical change in your lifestyle, which is obviously incompatible with carrying on as you are. But don’t worry. I’m ready to forgive all your failings. I’m ready to put your sinfulness into the past. I know this isn’t the normal way of dealing with wrong. I know the normal response is anger, feelings of revenge, demands for justice. But that’s your way, not mine. You’re too close to the situation to be able to see the big picture, so you’re going to have to trust me on this. Forgiveness is the only way forward.

Don’t be surprised if you are struggling to grasp the wonder and enormity of what I am inviting you to become. It’s like the unimaginable vastness of space – beyond everyday comprehension. But that doesn’t make my invitation meaningless. I’m not firing off profound words of wisdom into thin air. What I write here is going to change lives. Maybe not immediately. It will take time for some of what I say to germinate and take root. Any farmer will tell you that growth takes time. Change happens slowly. But come the harvest, it will be obvious that what were once tiny seeds have become fields full of crops. These words I am addressing to you now will have no less an impact on those who truly hear.

Picture what life in all its fullness will be like. You will walk around with head held high, with a smile on your face, and a deep contentment within your heart. The world will seem a better and brighter place. Trees and sky, houses and streets, friends and strangers – everything you meet will seem to glow with the glory of God. Problems will become fascinating challenges. Hardships will become opportunities to practise a deeper faith. Troubles will seem insignificant compared with the overwhelming joy of knowing my love for you.

Best of all, this life to which I invite you – a life in which I am at the centre, a life which glorifies me – is never going to end. Nothing can destroy it. If you want real security, if you want a life which neither accidents, arguments, disease, recession nor any other calamity can ruin, then come to me.

I’m offering you life. I know it’s what you want. Here it is. For you.

With all my love,

Your Father God.