Not with Ink (8/8-14)

08-14 August 2015 – Not with Ink – Manna by Dorothy Callies

2 Corinthians 3:3 “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (NKJV).

Some are called to tell others about Christ through their writing, but all believers are called to be “epistles,” or letters of Christ, in the way we live. The apostle Paul tells us, “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (2Cor. 3:3). [Note from RBC, Our Daily Bread in 2011).

Suppose if someone asked me to explain the meaning of the word 'ink,' I wouldn’t know enough to define it. So I look up the dictionary. Ink with noun means a usually liquid material for writing or printing; the black protective secretion of a cephalopod (some kind of ‘sea animals’ that create stuff). Ink with verb means to put ink on or to write or draw in ink.

2 Cor. 3:2-3 & 6 NCV, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3) You show that you are a letter from Christ sent through us. This letter is not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on stone tablets but on human hearts. 6) He made us able to be servants of a new agreement from Himself to His people. This new agreement is not a written law, but it is the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.”

These verse impressed me very much that our lives are epistle of Christ. It means people can “read” us. Our life style … the way we greet people … the way we say things … etc. I would like to share one example of Tony’s testimony that was really awesome. It seems to fit these verses very well.

Many years ago at the printing company where Tony used to work. He was a Linotype operator and a press man on a big printing machine. The next side of the area was a press man who worked on a small press machine. This friend of Tony whom he had not seen for years, happened to meet him. He testified, “I am saved because of you, Tony. 

At work, every morning you came to me with a cheery expression and said, “Good morning,” while most often I was in a grouchy mood. Your face shone with an inner beauty. God began working on my heart. Soon afterward, I invited Christ into my life. I want to thank you for praying for me.” His friend’s life was changed because Tony’s shining example was “an epistle of Christ.”

Again, truly Paul tells us, “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God” (2Cor. 3:3). So let the beauty of Christ be radiant and glowing with love in you so that others may see that “you are an epistle of Christ.” Sometimes this is the best testimony that you could give to influence others and drawn them to Christ. It is amazing that simple!

Song: Let the Beauty of Jesus

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,

All His wonderful passion and purity;

Oh, Thou Spirit divine, All my nature refine,

‘Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

(Inspiring Choruses)