You know the Bible to be instructive, historical, poetic. Have you also considered it to be an incredible love letter? That every book of the Bible reflects God’s love for its readers?
Bible Gateway interviewed Jennifer Rothschild (@jennrothschild) about her book, 66 Ways God Loves You: Experiencing God’s Love for You in Every Book of the Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2016).
[See the Table of Contents for 66 Ways God Loves You]
In the book’s introduction you share how you lost your sight at the age of 15 to a retinal disease and were no longer able to read from your own Bible. How did you feel God’s love during such a difficult time?
Jennifer Rothschild: I think I felt God’s love the deepest when I experienced my deepest loss. Amazing how God does that! Blindness brought with it a million adjustments and losses and emotions. But, there really was this unshakeable sense, deep within me, that God had already prepared me for the darkness. And he did it through his Word. I had memorized Scripture as a child and teen. I knew 1 John 1:5 that told me “…God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” And, I had memorized Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of your words gives light.”
But, wow—those truths jumped from my head straight to my heart once my eyes could no longer see light. Honestly, it was his Word that kept me from losing it completely. It was Scripture that I had hidden in my heart that quickly came to mind when my frustration felt stronger than my faith. The peace, comfort, and hope God gave me made me feel like I really was walking in his light; those spiritual blessings were constant reminders that God really did love me. He loved me enough to tuck his Word in my heart so I’d have it when my eyes could no longer read it.
Fast forward to today. I’m 52 years old and blindness has been the single hardest thing I deal with every minute of every day. And, I still feel the same way about God’s Word as I did when I was 15 and lost my sight. Really, Psalm 119:92 says it best; “If your law had not been my delight I would have perished in my affliction.” It’s true. God’s Word really carries me every day.
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Why do you consider the Bible to be God’s love letter?
Jennifer Rothschild: Lots of the time, we just think of the Bible as history or life lessons or poetry or—unfortunately—a collection of ‘thou shall’ and ‘thou shalt nots!’ All those elements are part of Scripture. God does give us the history of his people. God’s Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human experience. And, yes, it does give us clear boundaries of what we should and shouldn’t do so we can live our best lives.
I think God gives us all that in his Word because he’s a loving Father. Loving fathers give their children a sense of their history. Loving fathers give their children guidance on how to deal with all the hard things in life. Loving fathers give their children boundaries so they won’t get hurt and can live with peace and purpose. God is our loving Father who loves his children perfectly. So, every part of his Word is an expression of his love to us.
Because he loves us, he tells us where we came from and who we are. Because he loves us, he gives us lyrics to sing when our hearts can’t form words. Because he loves us, he gives us practical teaching and boundaries to protect our hearts. The whole thing is one big expression of a father’s love for his children. Even the parts that some think are rough and hard to swallow, are still expressions of a loving God Who has plans “…to prosper you and not to harm you” (Jeremiah 29:11). Because, ultimately, God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). It’s all about love!
How do you highlight God’s love in each book of the Bible? Especially in those books often viewed as historical, hostile, or even “boring”?
Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, when I read the word boring, I must admit, I think of Leviticus! Yeah, how can you find the love of God in Leviticus or Judges or Revelation? The really beautiful thing about every book is that you can find God’s love through each chapter because God is the author and God is love.
So, for example, in Leviticus, God shows us he loves us by giving us access to himself. If you just read Leviticus on the surface, you may think it’s just a bunch of grumpy irrelevant rules; but, it’s actually the way God gave his people access to himself. Because he loves us, he lets us know exactly how to have access to him. And ultimately, God gave us Jesus who is “The Way” (John 14:6).
In Judges, God stays faithful to us in spite of our repeated failures. Judges isn’t just about people who blow it over and over. It’s a picture of God’s love that never fails even when we do. And, Revelation isn’t just end time’s prophecy, it’s God showing off his Son and his glory and honoring us, his treasured bride, with a seat at his table forever!
Don’t get me started! I get so excited I could practically relay the whole table of contents! [Editor’s note: See the Table of Contents for 66 Ways God Loves You] I love his Word and I hope when readers discover how God communicates his love for them through each book of the Bible, they’ll fall deeper in love with his Word too.
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How has writing this book changed your life?
Jennifer Rothschild: I thought I loved Scripture before I wrote this book! But, as I reread each book of the Bible, I fell in love all over again—not just with God’s Word, but with God himself. Sometimes when I read Scripture, I’m trying to learn something or teach something or change something in my life. But, as I wrote this book, I looked at Scripture only through the lens of love.
It was totally humbling to be confronted over and over with the different ways God loves us—me—with an “everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3) I grappled with my unworthiness; I found myself just stopping—taking my fingers off my computer and bowing my head in gratefulness and praise.
Not only is it mind-blowing that God would consider me—us—worthy of his love, but it’s flat-out incomprehensible that God would give us his wisdom, compassion, guidance, and comfort by giving us his Word. It’s totally humbling and such an honor. Thank you Lord!
What’s your favorite book of the Bible and why?
Jennifer Rothschild: Well, is that kind of like choosing your favorite child? Ha! I guess if I have to choose, I choose Hosea. Oh, there’s no book of the Bible which more beautifully and more painfully demonstrates how very much God loves us.
I fell in love with Hosea as a little girl when my dad used to tell me the story of Hosea and Gomer. I always wanted a man to love me like he loved her. To think she didn’t deserve his love and he pursued her and sacrificed and called her his beloved bride? Well, that’s the kind of love any woman longs for.
And, the book of Hosea tells me that’s one of the ways God loves me. He pursues me, he sacrificed for me, and he calls me his beloved! And, not just me… all of us. God’s love is bigger than our failures and stronger than any chains that bind us. His love never quits or fails or walks away.
What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App?
Jennifer Rothschild: Let me just say writing 66 Ways God Loves You would have been a whole lot harder without Bible Gateway! It’s my first go-to when it comes to finding a verse or looking at a commentary or doing a word search. Being blind, I rely on software that talks to me. Not every website is easy for screen-readers to read. But Bible Gateway is. So, not only am I super grateful for your commitment to God’s Word and the content you provide, I’m really thankful that even these blind eyes can access it so easily with my screen reader. Thanks guys!
Bio: Jennifer Rothschild has written 13 books and Bible studies, including the bestsellers, Lessons I Learned in the Dark, Self Talk, Soul Talk, Hosea: Unfailing Love Changes Everything, and Invisible for Young Women. She’s appeared on Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, Life Today, and a Billy Graham television special, and spoken for Women of Faith and Extraordinary Women. She’s the founder of the Fresh Grounded Faith conferences and womensministry.net. Jennifer lost her sight at age 15 and regularly travels and speaks around the country, sharing her story and all God has done in her life. Jennifer lives with her family in Missouri.
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