Key Verse: The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. (2 Cor. 3:2)
Have you ever looked yourself up on the internet? For some people that can be embarrassing, and for others it can be encouraging. It depends on what kind of record you have left. The internet is the new diary of our lives. No matter what we may present in a résumé or what we may try to hide from others, there are things out there that tell the truth about us—at least most of us hope they tell the truth.
Paul’s true apostleship, and therefore his authority, was being questioned in the Church at Corinth. He asks, “Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf?” And his answer is “Surely not!” He was no unknown coming to minister among the Corinthians. They knew him. He had brought the gospel to them. He had founded their Church. He had nurtured them in the faith. So he writes, “The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.”
The Apostle Paul had left a record of his work in the hearts of the Corinthians. If any of those in the church at Corinth wanted to know the nature of his work, they could see it in their own lives. He goes on to say, “Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you.” At this moment they may be faltering and questioning the Apostle himself, but their own lives were the result of his ministry. They just had to look in the mirror to see what he had produced. That is the mark of his authority. That is the authentication of his work. He had left his mark on the Corinthian Christians.
When you look back on your life, what record have you left on people’s hearts? When they think of you, what comes to their minds? Are there warm feelings of the grace that has flowed into them through you? Are their eyes pointed in the direction of Christ as a result of your influence? Has your conduct toward them left an “aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14)? If this is so, praise God. If not, are there hurts or injuries you need to go back and repair? And will you covenant with God to do that with his help?
We sometimes sing these words:
O may all who come behind us find us faithful;
may the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe,
and the lives we live inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us find us faithful.
What about those who are here now? Do they find us faithful? Is the mark we are leaving on them a mark worthy of the Savior? And if we are now writing the diary of our lives in the lives of others, what will people read?
Prayer: Lord, let me write a story worth reading. Let me follow in the train of the faithful. May those who are touched by my life be better for it. May they be more Christlike. Let my influence have an upward effect.
Author: Lindsay Hislop was raised in southern Scotland and southern Ontario and now lives in the southern United States. He worked in the engineering field for 15 years (mostly in Canada) before pursuing an academic career. He has taught for over thirty years at Columbia International University. He also serves as an elder in his church, where he teaches and preaches regularly. He is married to a wonderful wife Pam and has two terrific children, Holly, who lives in Canada, and Doug, who lives in Columbia. His four grandchildren, Isaac, Madeline, Lindsay, and Dolan, are also pretty special. He likes doing carpentry and odd jobs around the house.
