LIVING LETTERS

"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" 

- 2 Corinthians 3:3

 

"If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it." - Tennessee Williams

I am not clear whether or not Tennessee Williams was a Christian.  You don't have to be a Christian, however, to speak the truth.  As a writer and a student of writing, I am well aware that an author often reveals more about himself than he or she would believe.  The best writing comes from the life experience and the heart of the author. When you try writing about something you do not know, you tend to come across more shallow than significant.

Paul, of course, is known to 21st century people through his letters. He was the most prolific of the New Testament authors, and all of his writings are letters from a real person in real circumstances to real people and real churches. (Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament and is sometimes credited as the influence on a 14th, Hebrews).  We see Paul's spiritual maturity and we see Paul's spiritual journey in his letters. Paul's prayer for and commendation of the Corinthians was that they had so embodied the gospel that they were now reflections of that gospel, as important a communication as the letters he (Paul) had been writing.

In a world of Twitter and trivia, Facebook and foolishness, blogs and baloney, we sometimes ask ourselves whether those authors are being truthful or whether they are creating a persona that hides the real person.  And based on some things I read, I must ask, "Does this person really believe they are reflecting the real Jesus?"

As you examine yourself this Lenten season, prayerfully ask - am I living letter that clearly communicates the life-changing Spirit of Christ?

(C) 2012 by Stephen L Dunn