YOU ARE GOD'S LETTER

by Barbara Chadwick & Jodi Denning

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. 2 Corinthians 3:3

            If you knew that your life was to be a letter from Christ to someone’s heart would it look any different from today or yesterday? Read this story from Jodi Denning, a very special woman with a loving heart who ministers to hurting women.

I have to share a story…  Erika (the young woman living with my husband and I) shared something this week with me that blew me away (and gave me a BIG dose of humility about my own Christian walk).  She is a hostess at Applebee’s, and does the seating of customers.  One of the waitresses is pretty ugly to her, calls her names, curses at her, gets in her face, mocks her for being a Christian, etc.  A large group came in to be seated, and they should have been in the waitress’s section but there were no clean tables, so Erika seated them in another section.  The waitress came up and spitefully chewed her out and cursed at her for not seating them in her area.  Erika said she did begin to get mad inside, but God gave her the ability to say calmly “I’m very sorry.  I would have seated them in your section, but there were no clean tables.”  The waitress stormed off.  Erika said she thought about the waitress’s accusations, name calling, etc. and she started feeling anger building up inside her… but then she said she prayed and asked God to take it away.  And here’s the part that blows me away.  There was a break in customers coming in to be seated, and Erika said she felt prompted to go clean some of the tables for the waitress.  I’m sure my jaw dropped when told me that part!!!  She’s only been a believer about a year, but WHAT spiritual maturity!  She said “I need to show her how Jesus makes us (believers) different”.  She also prayed for the waitress as she was cleaning her tables.  The waitress didn’t say anything to Erika, but you can BET she noticed.  Then the next group that came in, Erika seated them in that waitress’s section.  This made me SO aware of how I respond when someone treats me ugly like that – I withdraw, clam up, and tend to back way off.  She chose to serve that person.  My mind immediately went to Jesus’ prayer from the cross – Father, forgive them… they don’t know what they are doing.  Oh for the courage and self-control to LIVE THAT OUT! 

That’s a beautiful letter, written by God. May our actions show Christ’s love as clearly as Erikas’s actions so that the world will know who God is.