The Love Letter part 3
2 Corinthians 3:1-2, "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered to us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." We are God's love letter to the world. A living epistle, known and read of all men. I don't want to put any pressure on you... but people are watching you. People watch everybody, "Christian" or not. But if somebody knows that you're a "Christian" you go straight under the microscope. You're automatically expected to act holy. And by that I mean, people's misguided view of what holiness is. Because the world, "holy," means set apart. And I've always kind of thought that if most people are miserable... then being set apart from that would mean you're happy. Yes, I equate holiness to happiness. And what could possibly make us happier than what we say in the last Rant series (Delight in the Lord and Him giving us the desire of our heart)? Here's what I'm saying: Even though people WILL read your letter (the letter that you are), and they WILL judge you, the only sensible thing to do is to read the letter that Christ wrote on your heart with His Spirit. To know what you have (love), and to share what you have. And I love how the Apsotle Paul says, "...not in tables of stone," referring to the Ten Commandments. Because another misguided notion is that in order to "be a good Christian, you must follow the 10 Commandments." Guys... the 10 Commandments were not given for us to follow. They were given so that we could understand that we can't follow them! The Law was given as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The 10 Commandments are NOT the be-all, end-all. And if you try to follow them in your own strength you WILL fail. All the Law can do is produce law breakers. It demands perfection without being able to produce it. But there's a more excellent way. The letter (or word, LOVE) written on our hearts with the Spirit of the living God! Love is teh be-all, end-all. Love is the more excellent way. Love is the letter that we read when we hear the gospel--the good news of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross--and love is the letter that people read when we simply receive and release the gift of God (which is eternal life, which is knowing the Father and the One whom He sent)! God gave us His Spirit so that we could understand who He is (our heavenly Father) in relation to who we are (His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased). God gave us His Spirit so we could read the letter. So we could experience and share the love that He has given us. The love that He is. The love that WE are. When we let God love us, that love (that we are already filled with) fills us to overflowing and comes out of us naturally. That's why we love Him (because He first loved us), and that how we love Him (by loving one another with the love that we are loved with). That's how we publish the letter that He wrote!