Living Letters

I used to love writing letters to my pen pal. Whenever her letters showed up in my mailbox, I had the thrill of ripping into them, excited to hear what was going on in her life. The Apostle Paul wrote two letters to the church in Corinth. In his second letter, Paul calls the Corinthian Christians living letters, not written in ink but written on human hearts. When people looked at these Christians, they could see the penmanship of the living God. To understand what Paul means in this passage, it helps to look at the Old Testament. God made a covenant (or promise) with His people, the Israelites, when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Following God’s good laws was necessary if the people desired to have a right relationship with God. After God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face radiant with God’s glory. Having been in the presence of the God of the universe, Moses was reflecting the glory of God. But the people were afraid, so Moses wore a veil to cover his glowing face (Exodus 34:27-35). Then, even though the Israelite people knew God’s laws, they continually broke them and sinned. Yet God, in His mercy, appointed priests to make animal sacrifices to cover the people’s sins. Generations later, when God sent His Son Jesus to die for us and raise again, we received a new and better covenant that would cover our sins once and for all (Hebrews 7:22-28). No longer do we need to make sacrifices or have a priest intercede on our behalf—we have direct access to God the Father because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. As Paul told the Corinthian church, when we place our trust in Christ alone to save us, the veil is removed; we now have unveiled faces that reflect the very glory of the One who is in us (2 Corinthians 3:16-18). If you are a Christian, you are a living letter to everyone around you. The more time you spend in the presence of the One who created you and loves you beyond measure, the more you will be transformed into Christ’s image. The glory of God is in you, and His light is shining in your heart (2 Corinthians 4:6). Who will read you today? • Savannah Coleman • Do you know anyone who shines God’s glory? How does their life point others to Jesus? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are Christ’s letter, delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God—not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (CSB)

Read Verses:

2 Corinthians 3