Writing a Love Letter

This post is based on a message I heard at church this past Sunday night that really opened my eyes about some things.

In 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 it says, "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.  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."  These verses are basically saying that the way we live and the way we treat others is writing a letter on others' hearts.  What are we writing on the hearts of others?  Does how we speak to others and act towards them write a positive letter on their hearts? 

If we think about the length of time, in relation to creation to when Jesus returns, our lives are only about 2/5 of a second long.  We may think sometimes we have "our whole lives" to do this or to do that, when in reality our lives are short.  What are we writing on the hearts of others during our 2/5 of a second? 

If we look at 1 Corinthians 13:4 it says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres". If we replace the word 'love' with 'I', how does that turn out?  Of course, none aside from Jesus Christ are all of these perfectly; however, how close are we? Are we doing our best everyday to be this way? 

1 Corinthians 13:1, "If I speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."  Clearly, as shown in these verses, nothing is of worth if it's not combined with love.

The Bible says God is love.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  If God loves us this much, shouldn't we be doing our best to show the love he asks us to show?  It's hard to show love to others when we don't like them, they don't like us, we don't know them, or when they do things to us.  When Jesus was rejected by others, when other didn't measure up to him, and when others mocked him, didn't he still die for all of us?  We will never be able to be exactly like Jesus; however, we need to do our best to follow what the Bible says about love and try our best to love others the way that God loves us.

This is something I struggle with because I do anger easily, I am not patient, I am not always kind, I do keep a record of wrongs, I am proud, I do sometimes boast, and the list goes on.  This message helped open my eyes and has inspired me to try harder on improving this aspect, along with others, of my life.  I hope it has inspired you as well.  What letter are you writing on the hearts of others?