“Love in Action”
By Rev. Everett R. Kimble, Sr.
2 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NLT) “Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.”
NAVY life is hard. Just the day-to-day activities of being deployed are hard enough, add to that the strain of having to spend long periods of time away from loved ones and you have a recipe for stress. But there were moments and little things that made the stress bearable. One of those things was mail call. Just like it sounds, mail call was those instances while out at sea. We would get all the mail that had accumulated because the ship was not able to receive it every day. We did not always know when it was coming, but when it did you could feel the anticipation all over the ship. For me it meant letters from home and my wife that always served as encouragement for the days ahead and strength for the moment. Each letter seemed to speak to my soul and was always just what I needed.
And here is my encouragement for you today. Just as the Apostle Paul reminds “the church of God which is at Corinth,” I am reminding you today that you are the love letter that someone is eagerly waiting for from God.” You are the joy, hope, and the inspiration that some weary soul needs to hear in this moment. You may be going through your own personal struggle, but just like the struggle of the cross, your struggle has purpose and right there in the middle of it, if you take the time to bless someone else you might find more grace and understanding for yourself.
“Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.” (2 Cor. 3:3, NLT)
You are the blessing, let God use you! Have a blessed and awesome Friday.
