Day #166 - Living Letters

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NIV

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

Have you ever received a meaningful handwritten letter?

When I was twenty years old, right before my twenty first birthday, I received a letter from my Dad. It was Mother’s Day and my Dad wrote letters to all of us in our family. It was written on a half sheet size of note paper with our church logo on it. He wrote to me about how much he loved me and how he saw God’s hand on my life. He said that he was praying for my wife as well. The letter touched me deeply and I still have it to this day. It still gives me strength and hope in my ministry and when I endure trying times.

A letter has the power to make a huge impact on someone’s life. Spoken words are meaningful and powerful but writing words down for someone to read adds to their lasting value and makes a deeper impact. Of course, most the of the New Testament itself is letters written by the apostles to the churches.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul is sayin that the Corinthians themselves were the apostles’ letter. Their lives are known and read by everyone. Paul says that the believers at Corinth were living letters from Christ, written with the Spirit of God on their human hearts. Life in “the Presence” or in the Spirit can create such an impact on us, that our lives become a testament to the word of God.

People of “the Presence” are temples, release a fragrance of Christ and become living letters that can be read by others. William Toms once said, “your life might be the only Bible someone reads.” This is what I believe Paul is getting at here. We can be so impacted by grace, by the Spirit and by the glory of God that our life becomes a letter that can be read by others.

I want the Spirit of God to work so powerfully in my life and impact me so much that my life carries a story which is read by others, that allows them to know and experience God through me.

Holy Spirit, have all of me. Write the Word of God on my heart. Let me not only carry Your presence, but let my life be a story of your glory that is known and read by all. Overcome my heart with Your presence Holy Spirit. Have Your way in me. Thank You for impacting my life so much that it leaves an impact on others. In Jesus name, amen.