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WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD
WORLD HEADQUARTERS
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91123
HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
President and Pastor
June 20, 1977
Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ:
I think our people rarely send "greeting cards" on various
set occasions--like holiday greetings, birthday greetings,
"getwell" cards to sick friends, Mother's Day greetings, etc.,
etc. Many stores carry large assortments of such cards.
I did receive such cards of marriage congratulations on
the occasion of my recent marriage after being left alone for
ten years. They came by the thousands, besides other thousands
of personally written letters of congratulations from all over
the world, including high government officials. Many, if not
most of the cards contained handwritten additional words
expressing not only best wishes, but LOVE AND AFFECTION--special
added expressions of WARMTH.
And I have just received a special "Father's Day" greeting
card which I would like to quote--not the printed part, but the
handwritten message added. It said: "Happy Father's Day to
the father of Garner Ted and the spiritual leader and father
of all of us in God's Church today. Blessings and much love
from one of your widow children."
A couple days ago I had a nice long chat in my office with
Mr. Richard Rice, head of our Mail Receiving Department. His
department opens and reads the vast volume of mail that we receive
daily.
Mr. Rice said "Mr. Armstrong, you, of course, can't read
all of the great volume of letters that come in daily, although
we do get to you those specially marked 'PERSONAL.' But we who
do read these letters want you to know how much this flow of
letters from all our brethren and co-workers express how deeply
they all do LOVE YOU. I do want you to know how much we in my
department are IMPRESSED with the real deepness of the love the
brethren and co-workers have in their hearts for you."
Brethren--"my little children in the Lord"--do you know
WHY we LOVE GOD? It's because He first loved us, and called
us to become His own begotten children, to become His BORN
children in the resurrection. It's because He gave us His Holy
Spirit, which actually IS the LOVE OF GOD--that is, GOD'S OWN
LOVE given to us and placed within us. It is not a human love.
It is a love that only God has, and can give to and actually put
within us.
If you love me, as these thousands of letters reflect, it's