2 Corinthians 3:1-6
“May the work I’ve done speak for me.” We hear this phrase quoted most often at funerals as we remember and celebrate the life of the deceased. The phrase reminds us that we measure our lives by our actions more than our words. As poet Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Angelou’s words are a powerful lesson in discovering what matters most. Words certainly mattered to this gifted wordsmith who also knew the importance of acting compassionately. But she understood that the highest purpose for our words and actions is to love one another.
God’s people forgot all that God said and created to form and maintain a relationship with them. Though they broke their promises to God, the Creator would not give up on loving them. The relationship God wants cannot be contained in words or actions alone. God draws even closer to them, offering a new covenant that becomes more personal, that they will remember to feel. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will place my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds…. I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more” (Heb 10:16-17). Paul celebrates the unforgettable effect that God’s work on human hearts has on the lives of those that encounter believers. You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared 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 (vv. 2-3).
When God writes on our hearts, we may become the only Bible that some people will read. We may become a letter of recommendation for Christ, that offers the hope and love that someone else needs to feel.
Consider
What is God writing on your heart that needs to be read?
Pray
God, help us value the work that you are doing in our lives. Help us become open books, willing to introduce others to you. Amen.