Caring Letters
Decades ago, Dr. Jerry Motto discovered the power of a 'carer letter'. His research found that simply sending a letter expressing care to discharged patients, who had previously attempted suicide, reduced the rate of recurrence by half. Recently, health care providers have rediscovered this power when sending 'caring' texts, postcards and even social media memes as follow-up treatment for the severely depressed. Twenty-one books in the Bible are, actually, letters – epistles – caringly written to the first-century believers who struggled for a variety of reasons. Paul, Peter, James and John wrote letters to explain the basics of faith and worship. Also, how to resolve conflict and build unity. The apostle, Peter, however, specifically wrote to believers who were being persecuted by the Roman emperor, Nero. Peter reminded them of their intrinsic value to God, describing them in this way in 1 Peter 2:9 : "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood...