2 Corinthians 3.2-3 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. – St. Paul
I’ve heard it said, when one becomes a believer in Jesus, they have a birthmark on them that resembles a bull's-eye for the rest of their days. That birthmark is the imprint of Christ that shows the born one is His own. It is His mark for all to see.
As I read 2 Corinthians 3 today, the words of Paul show that the born ones are Christ’s open letter to mankind of His transforming power and presence at work within them by His Spirit. I am a letter.
All of God’s people are letters to the world around them
of the power and presence of Jesus within them. It‘s a high calling, but when
one considers the lengths that God has gone to redeem them from the magnitude
of their fallenness, blindness, and self-destruction, it ought to be obvious to
others of His presence within them. Something
has to show for it.
That something
needs to be more than words or platitudes. That something needs to be more than a passing thought or mental assent;
that something has to be evidence of
the very nature of God bubbling up out of them; rivers of living water…
Paul’s issues with the Corinthians were partly based on
their attitude of themselves – they’d learned just enough to make them
dangerous, and not in the courageous sense of the word. They were more self-righteously
obnoxious than anything. Paul reminded them that a watching world was judging
their commitment and their genuineness. It’s true today as well.
I need to remember that there is a world watching me.
Now, that’s not a big deal if I don’t focus on the world, but it is a big deal
if I don’t focus on Jesus. A life focused on Jesus may not be the miraculous
saving of tens of thousands of souls, but it may be the saving of some: my
neighbor, my coworker, my boss, the cashier at the grocery store… How I live my
life is what people see. And what people see means a lot when they compare it
to what I say. I am a letter of Christ delivered to a watching world.
Father, as I wander
out into this world today, may I remember who I am and Whose I am. I am a
letter written by You and delivered to those around me who haven’t a clue as to
who You are and why I am. May it be plain to see that I am Yours and You are mine.
And may the letter I am be properly read and understood by someone today who
needs to become a letter themselves. In Your Name, amen.
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