Fragrance of life
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. 2 Corinthians 3:1-3
There are celebrities and sport athletes that make the claim their lives are too important to be ignored for they are setting examples to the youth and the next generation. But there are those that will not have the same claim because they are not proud of how they are living their lives. From the text, Paul’s qualification as God’s servant was being questioned at Corinth. In his response, he told them that the positive impact he had to Christians will prove that the message he shares to them comes from God. The changed lives of people he ministered to were his proof that it was the message of salvation from God that transformed people’s lives. He claimed that he was sincere in living out the life God gave him and that he was faithful serving God by coming to those who need to hear the message of salvation. The changed lives are undeniable evidence of the power of the gospel’s message. Words we proclaim concerning the gospel is important but life transformed by the grace of God is undoubtedly a powerful witness of our relationship with God. Testimonies could not be easily forgotten for they “are a letter from Christ.” They are a letter not written with pen and ink, “but with the Spirit of the living God.” Our role is secondary for it is the Spirit of the living God that convicts and transforms lives. But this is not to minimize our role for we are just like Paul, called upon to be faithful and be sincere in living our life as example of God’s marvelous work of His grace. This is what God does; He radically transforms our lives by writing in our hearts the new covenant. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). It is true that while still on this earth we constantly battle with our old sinful nature but within us is God’s power to make us follow the spiritual inclination He placed in our hearts. If you are in Christ because of your relationship with Him as Lord and Savior, just like Paul, you must embrace the ministry God gave you as His sweet aroma to those He wants you to minister with His word.
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
