My good friend, mentor, and fellow minister, Stan Hullah, spoke Sunday night at the Deer Run Church of Christ and challenged me to think about what my life says to others.

“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 tablet of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  2 Corinthians 3:3 (TNIV)

I love to write.  There are times writing is easy . . . other times I search my mind long and hard for just the right words to express what I want to say.  I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to join the “blog world”, because it seems to be the perfect fit for this love of mine . . . a creative outlet regardless of if it is read or not.  🙂  

Writing allows me to form and express my thoughts in a careful and precise manner.  It helps me to avoid the often rash, sarcastic, thoughtless words that can so easily come out of my mouth.  Not that it eliminates those . . . they can still creep onto a page if I am not diligent.  Writing helps me to evaluate what I am saying, before it is said, so that I can attempt to see how others view my words.  Writing can be saved, studied, critiqued, and evaluated to determine its worth and genuineness.  Writing has extended value . . . not here today, gone tomorrow.  Writing done well can be compelling, thought provoking, convicting, and even irresistible.  Writing can also be poor, booring, discarded, and even offensive.  It can be rude, obnoxious, crass, and downright insulting.  Writing can be misunderstood, misplaced, fragmented, and even lost in translation.

If you are a Christian, what does the “living letter” that is your life say about the Jesus you proclaim?  We know that the “writing” itself is good . . . it is written by the Spirit of the living God.  The bigger question is, “How are you doing at translating this “living letter” into the language of the culture you live and work in.  Are you living a passionate pursuit of Jesus that can be read by everyone?  Is the letter of your life fragmented and in pieces so that it is difficult for anyone to make sense of what it says?  Are you having difficulty in knowing what it says?

Stan made an excellent point in his message that being a living letter is all about faith.  “Without faith it is impossible to please God” – Hebrews 11:6.  Without faith it is impossible to be the “living letter” God wants you to be.  It requires a full surrender and complete trust that God is the one writing the letter that is your life. 

I pray that God writes His story in your life and that you live as a “living letter” that is read by everyone.