You are a letter from Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:3)Paul writes to the Corinthians that he needs no reference letter, for they are his letter of reference. Their changed lives are proof that his ministry is legitimate.
Just as the Corinthian Christians documented the validity of Paul's ministry, our lives are also living letters that corroborate or refute the claims of Christ. This concept is dressed up in varying illustrations throughout the New Testament.
In Christ's Gethsemane prayer we read: May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me... (John 17:23). Jesus knew that friends and neighbors would be examining the lives of believers to determine if they too should accept him as Messiah.
In 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul tells us: We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. Again a clear reference to the truth that we represent Christ to the world around us.
Peter writes: Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us (1 Peter 2:12). They may not admit it, but in their hearts they know there is something different about us, and they will give God the credit.
It's vitally important that what people read in us is congruent with the words we speak.
Do those near you hear the same message in your words that they read in your life?
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