Living Letters

You’ve heard of a “Dear John” letter? Not the kind of letter you want to find in your mailbox. I wonder who “John” was and why he got bad news. What did he do to make his girlfriend unhappy? Is there such a thing as a “Dear Jane” letter? Anyway, nobody wants to open a letter and read sad or bad news.

My mind played around with this idea when I read the words of the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Jesus followers in Corinth. Here are his surprising words: “Clearly, you (Corinthians) are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you.” Imagine that! People could read the Corinthian followers like they would read a letter.

So spend some time asking yourself “What kind of letter am I? What do people understand about Jesus and his Way when they read my behavior, my language, my attitudes?” We are living letters. Be sure you aren’t sending out “Dear John” letters to the reading world around you. Something to think about.