The Fewer, the Better and the Simpler, the Better!

Sometimes, the fewer the words, the better… 

Many would probably argue that the most important words in the English language, when strung altogether in the right order, are just three simple words.  And each of those three words is just a one syllable word.  So, not only the fewer the better but also, as a bonus, the simpler, the better!

Oh, the three words…they are “I love you” – few, simple and altogether meaningful!     

God used them to encourage His people, the people of Israel:  “You are priceless to me. I love you and honor you. So I will trade other people for you. I will give up other nations to save your lives.” (Isa 43:4)

The significance of the words “I love you” is inestimable, especially when used in a way that communicates value and commitment

And when you look at Jeremiah 31:3, you see a past tense of those words so that “I love you” is “I have loved you”.  But that’s not all that the verse says, the “I have loved you” is wonderfully qualified:  “I have loved you with an everlasting love”.

I would also suggest that there is a series of four words that, when strung together in the right order, have almost equal importance as the three above.  Amazingly, these four words are also just one syllable each:  “I am with you” – few, simple and altogether meaningful!

Again, God used them to encourage His people:  Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.”  (Hag 1:13)

The significance of the words “I am with you” is also inestimable, especially when used in a way that communicates value and commitment.

And when you look at Matthew 28:20, you see that the phrase “I am with you” is wonderfully qualified:  “I am with you always, to the end of the age”.

"I love you” and “I am with you”, just a few words that do fall into that category of “the fewer the words, the better.”  And, since they are also just one syllable words, “the simpler, the better” seems appropriate.

But greater still, the words have inestimable value because they are spoken by God in reference to us.  And when you add in the descriptors of everlasting and always, well the value becomes inestimably inestimable!