Letter of Recommendation

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV)

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.

Perhaps you have been asked before to write a letter of recommendation for someone looking for some position of responsibility. Most of the time I am glad to do it. Why? Because I know the person's character and what that person has accomplished. In the secular world, it is all about accomplishments. In the Church, it can be pretty much the same way. A church leader might be known for the building program he led, or for the successful fundraising program. However, this is too much like the world's way of looking at success. How should a Christian measure success? It is by changed lives. How many people came to know Christ? How many disciples became themselves disciplers of others?

The world measures by perishable fruit. Christ has appointed us to bear fruit--fruit that will last. (John 15:16)

In this same third chapter of Second Corinthians is a wonderful description of sanctification. This is God's purpose for us. When you see a spirit-filled Christian, look for that glow in their face.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.