“You Are A Living Letter”
By Rev. Everett R. Kimble, Sr.
“1 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! 2 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. 3 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 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NLT)
NAVY life is hard. 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 little moments was mail call. Mail call came while we were deployed and all the mail that had accumulated, because the ship was not able to receive it every day would drop in. We did not know when it was coming, but when it did you could feel the anticipation all over the ship. For me it meant letters from 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 just the pick-me-up I needed.
Just like those letters reminded me I was loved back home, the Apostle Paul reminded “the church of God which is at Corinth,” that they were love letters from God. And here is my encouragement for you today. You are the love letter that someone is eagerly waiting for from God.” You are the joy, hope, peace and inspiration that some weary soul needs to hear from 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 will find more grace and understanding for yourself. Being a blessing is always a blessing.
“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 wonderful and awesome Friday.
