2You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;3being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.4Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.5Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God... (NAS)
It's true, God has written His truth on our hearts, and as His words have penetrated and activated our hearts, so we go forward to communicate what He desires for us to relate to certain people in a variety of situations. He is writing His story in our hearts and through our lives, and as we testify to the work of God in us, He will use us to show others that He is alive, that He is love, and that He desires for people to enter into a relationship with His Son. So we have to be careful to communicate in a manner that is consistent with what God wants us to say and to behave in a manner that brings honor to Him. We are living letters, energized by the Spirit of God.
In 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2, Paul writes in that letter to the church at Thessalonica about the power of words, including those contained in his letters:
15So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,17comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
Donna Gregory of Arnold, MO, was searching through a box of World War II memorabilia, and what she found initiated a search that lasted over a decade. She found a letter written by Pfc. John Eddington, along with a purple heart. The letter was written to Eddington's infant daughter just before going overseas to fight in the war. He died in Italy in 1944 and never had the chance to meet her.
Donna began to look for his daughter, whom she only knew as Peggy. She used Facebook and friends and was ultimately successful. This past Saturday, the daughter, Peggy Eddington-Smith of Dayton, NV received the letter. The letter was read and the Purple Heart was presented at a special ceremony over the weekend. According to ABC News, when Gregory reached Eddington-Smith to tell her about the letter, the 69-year-old great-grandmother was stunned. She had no idea the letter existed. She related that her mother had not told her much about her dad, and learned as a young girl not to bring it up because she would get upset.
Before the ceremony started Gregory admitted she would be emotional throughout the event. She read from the letter: "I’ll always love you very much...You and your sweet mother are always on my mind each day and night.”
Donna Gregory reached beyond herself to make an impact on a person through a letter she possessed. demonstrates the power of encouragement and how a letter, even though it was over six decades old, when written by a special person, can have an enormous effect.
I say that words are containers, and the power of this soldier's emotional words were timeless. So, consider the words sent to us by Almighty God, who wrote letters by His Holy Spirit through men who were willing vessels to be used of Him. The apostle Paul lived over 1900 years ago, but his words can be fresh to us today - why? Because those words that he wrote connect us to God the Father, they are literally infused with the Holy Spirit, endued with power. God has written a book, and His Word contains a story of His love for humanity and His incredible redemption plan. His letters to us give us strength and wisdom to live life every day.
God has given us the written Word of God and brought it alive to our hearts through the Holy Spirit, and as we embrace His truth, we become living letters through which He communicate His love and reality. His Word expressed through us is able to bring light into situations and Christ's love into relationships - we are carriers of the very truth of the Lord.
The power of a letter of encouragement cannot be underestimated - God has written His love letter to us, and by virtue of writing His truth on our hearts, we become His communicators. And, perhaps He is calling you to speak - or write - words of life to someone else. In our electronic age, we may have lost some of that fine art of letter-writing, but imagine the impact if you were to send someone a letter that could bring refreshing, or that could speak God's Word into a situation that needs healing and restoration. Long overdue words, energized by the Spirit of God, can dramatically alter a person's state of mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment