“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 by 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. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2 Corinthians 3:2-5 (KJV)
John read this passage and sipped his morning coffee thoughtfully. How he wished he could claim someone as his “epistle.” Startled by the phone, at such an early hour, he spilt his coffee. “Good morning, Dad. I knew you’d be up and I wanted to check on Taylor. Everything going alright?” For the next few minutes, John enjoyed an inspiring conversation with his son. They talked about God’s blessings, family, and business in that order. By the end of the short phone call, John was refreshed and energized for the day.
When he returned to his devotional, John realized that he did indeed have some epistles written in his heart. Tears came to his eye as he thanked God for the grace, which enabled him to live faithfully before his children. He knew it was the work of the Holy Spirit. God was keeping him and he knew that God would keep his children and grandchildren.
Movement caught his eye as Taylor crawled into the recliner with him. “No, I am not sufficient to give him what he needs,” he thought. “But the Spirit of the Living God can. And my trust is him for our sufficiency is of God!”
Dear Father, thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you for the spiritual and emotional letters we have inscribed on our hearts. Thank you for family and what they mean to us. Enable us to rely on the sufficiency of the Holy Spirit to write the gospel on their hearts. Empower us to minister the epistle of Christ to them. In Jesus’ name. AMEN
Let us praise God for family members and live to minister grace to them,
Pastor Smith