Scripture: 2 Cor. 2:14-3:6 (CEB)
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 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.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
Contributed by Sara Pero
When was the last time you remember sitting down and writing a letter, using a pen, paper, and your own hand-writing? John and I still have all the letters we wrote to each other when we were in college back in the late 1970’s. I still have letters that my Dad wrote me over the years. In those days, it was either write a letter or talk on the phone. That’s the way you stayed in touch…
In today’s scripture, Paul is talking about a custom which was common in the ancient world, that of sending letters of commendation with a person. If someone was going to a strange community, a friend who knew someone in that community would give him a letter to introduce him and to testify to his character. In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul is saying there is no longer a need for a letter to introduce him because they know him very well. He has taught them about Christ, spent years with them, helped them form their own Christian church, and truly loved them. The Corinthians themselves are now a letter written in Paul’s heart for all the world to read.
William Barclay states in his commentary, “There is a great truth here, which is at once an inspiration and a warning. Every person is an open letter for Jesus Christ. Every Christian, like it or not, is an advertisement for Christianity. The honor of Christ is in the hands of His followers. We judge a shopkeeper by the kind of goods sold. We judge a craftsman by the kinds of articles produced. We judge a church by the kind of people created. Therefore people judge Christ by His followers. When we go out into the world, we have the awe-inspiring responsibility of being open letters, advertisements, for Christ and His church.”
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, it is my greatest desire to be an open letter for you in this world. It is the love You give to me that I want to share with all those around me. I want to walk like you did in this present day world. Guide me each and every day. In Your Name I pray, Amen.
You must be logged in to post a comment.