Letter From God – April 3, 2009

Letter From God

2 Corinthians 3:2-3

Jim Stephens

04-03-09

 

Scripture:

 

2 But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. 3 Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

Paul was writing this section of his letter to defend his authority with the Corinthians and his credentials as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  He said he didn’t need to carry letters of authority in his briefcase or a credential card in his wallet because the lives of the Corinthian believers were evidence of the effectiveness of his ministry.

 

Application:

 

We are now a post-Christian society.  Organized Christianity has less credibility than ever before in the history of the west and a person’s position within the structure of organized church or title of “Reverend” or “Pastor” has come to mean very little.  Identifying ourselves as “Christians” no longer makes us the “good guys.”  It was like that in Paul’s day, too.  Calling yourself a Christian was as likely to get you a beating as a blessing.

 

Here’s my suggestion:  Let’s allow Jesus to carve his love, his values, and his passion into our hearts.  If we let him do that, our lives will be letters that people read to learn whether God is gracious and loving or harsh and judgmental.  When people watch us live and give and love and sacrifice, when they see our joys and our tears and God’s grace at work in us over and over again, they’ll get a message about God through us.

 

Our lives are love letters from God to our world.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, I’m not sure that my life always reads exactly as you wrote it.  I think that my attitudes and words and actions sometimes misinterpret your message.  Help me to do better today to simply be a clearly readable letter from you to the people who live in my world.  Please make it so.