“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter,written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 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. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as minister of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit for the letter kills, but the Spirit give life.” 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
My friend Sam Ingrassia sent me an encouraging email last month, and in it, he mentioned the impact this passage in 2 Corinthians had recently had on him. I was already in the middle of a study, so I set it on the back-burner and added it to my “things to do” pile, which during this time of year is increasing daily. This week, I felt like God was saying it was time to dive-in and study Sam’s suggestion. I love God’s timing – it’s always perfect – because it really encouraged me to move forward with an area I’ve been praying about for the last few weeks. More on that later…
Take some time to go read the passage. Verse one starts out with Paul asking if the people in the church of Corinth needed to carry letters with them to authenticate who they were. Apparently, there were some false prophets in the day that started forging letters of authority to try to convince others that their “message” was real.
I can definitely relate to this. My full time job is arranging airfare for churches, missionaries, and non-profit organizations. My company has contracts negotiated with every major airline to offer some special arrangements to passengers traveling for these purposes. Believe it or not, there are some passengers who have been discovered through the years carrying false documents, trying to authenticate the purpose of their trip. I've seen it myself, fabricated letterhead with the name, address, and phone number of a church that doestn't even exist. Yes, unfortunately, there are some people who represent themselves in life in a certain way who are not “the real deal.”
But then Paul goes on to talk about those that are “the real deal.” This is really what struck me, and what my friend Sam wanted me to see. Look at verses 2-3 “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 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.”
Paul was basically telling them that they didn’t need a stone tablet / letter to authenticate the message of Christ because their lives authenticated Him. The Lord God could be seen in the tablet of their heart! In verses 4-5, Paul gave God the credit for this, but just like a proud daddy, he mentioned that God had used him and his ministry to have a part in growing them into that living, breathing authentication.
The application really is two-fold for me as I read this passage. The first question I must ask myself is this: Am I living out my salvation so that others could say the same thing about me? Can others authenticate the Message of Jesus Christ just by the way I am living? Or do I have to in some way “prove” that I am a Christian, because it’s not apparent in my actions and words. I pray nearly every day that I will make the choices so that others see “The Jesus in Me” and that I will be a reflection of Him. I pray that I am living that way, but I know I have so much more room for growth.
But the second part of the application is really what struck me and God confirmed in my heart an answer to prayer. You see, Paul could actually say with confidence (not boasting) that those Christians in Corinth were a result of his ministry. Paul had invested himself into them, teaching them and helping them grow. He didn’t just live his life as a Christian trying to reflect Christ himself, but he poured himself into others. He had a vested interest in those Christians because he had personally
invested in them.
As I think back over my life, I can think of a few people that like Paul, I can say, “You are a letter from Christ, the result of my ministry.” But over the last few weeks,not even knowing I was going to study this passage this week, I’ve been asking God if He wants more from me. I sat in a meeting a few weeks ago and listened as one of my friends poured out her heart about the need for someone in our church to step up and lead a women’s Bible study. God has been speaking to me about investing myself more deeply into the lives of others, and when I heard her heart, I committed to pray and ask God if this was something He wanted me to do.
Like everyone else, my life is pretty full. I work a full time job, anywhere from 40-70 hours a week, depending on the season. I and am a wife and mother of two teenagers. I serve on our church’s worship team, host a life-group in our home every other week, serve on the women’s ministry leadership team at church, am active with my daughter’s debate team, write Christian music and poems, blog, and of course, if you really know me, you know I also try to bake lemon bars for my friends to encourage them. Yes, my life is pretty full, and your list is probably longer than mine.
But you know what? We all have the same 24 hours in a day. We all have the same 7 days in a week, and we all have the same 365 days in a year. The only difference between my time and someone else's is how I prioritize it. Truth. As I prayed about starting a Bible study, God just kept telling me that He didn’t want lip-service, He wants action. He doesn’t want me to just blog about living out my Christian life, He wants it demonstrated in a more tangible way. The more I prayed, the more He asked me, “How are you investing yourself in the life of others to grow them?” Like an unprepared student in class, I didn't have a very strong answer.
And that brings it back full circle. You see, God had already shown me that He wanted me to pour myself into others, then He confirmed it through Scripture and through our dear friend Sam sharing this passage. Yes, God’s timing is always perfect. If I had read this a month ago when Sam passed it on to me, it likely wouldn’t have had the same impact. At that time, God wasn’t speaking to me about investing myself more deeply in others. (Or maybe He was, and I just wasn’t listening yet!) Either way, it’s my prayer that I will be the "real deal"...that I will not only be a “living letter” of authentication for God, but that I will also be able to look at others and say with all glory going to God, “You are a result of my ministry.” May we each be a tablet of human heart!
--- Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com
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