“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” – [2 Corinthians 3:2-5]
I recently read the book of 2 Corinthians and found that this passage stood out to me – an epistle, a letter of Christ written on our hearts, inked there by the Spirit of the living God, testifying to all people that our trust and our sufficiency is from God. This is a testimony, but it is also more than that. This epistle is our mindset, the radiance of our heart’s purpose and desire as we live in this world. This epistle is the light of Christ that shines through us to all those around us.
In the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to catch up with lots of people. I heard so many wonderful stories and told some of my own. As I spoke and shared, I realised a theme in my voice, something that my heart declared time and time again – “Jesus knows best, He knows us best, so we ought to trust Him, listen to Him and obey Him.” I realised this came from the journey I have had in relationship with Christ, my heart’s unyielding assurance built from all the testimonies Jesus has made in me.
Seeing this theme in my speech, I became aware of the epistles radiating Christ on the hearts of those around me. My dad who always says to “look up”, that “it’s all for Jesus”; my mum who constantly reminds, “pray always and give thanks to God”; my sister who listens and comforts the way God listens and comforts her; my husband who knows the Father God, and sees others the way the Father sees them. There are others too, those whose hearts have shared epistles of purity, intimacy in Christ, zealousness for truth. In the way they speak and live, that epistle is read loud and clear.
The epistle on our heart is not read by self-commendation, and it is not even read by the commendation of others. Rather, it is a letter that tells of Someone greater than ourselves and so, it is read everywhere and at every time by its author, the Holy Spirit, as He works the life of Christ in us. It is read in the consistency of our faith, the consistency of our hope that we place in Christ, and in the integrity of life that does not yield this hope or this truth even when opposition or persecution comes.
What does the epistle on your heart say? What banner flies over your life? Whose sufficiency will you proclaim? I choose to let God reign, and to let His Spirit write His message on my heart.
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