DAY 164: You Are a Letter

 

DAY 164

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic    

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Twenty-four Tuesday 25 August 2020

You Are a Letter

“And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink,

but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablet of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.”

- 2 Corinthians 3:3

What kind of letter am I, Lord?

Am I a letter that people delight to open, or one that they dread?

Do I bring joy, light and encouragement,

or do I bring gloom, worry and despair?

Do I bring a smile to peoples’ faces and leave their day a little bit brighter

or do I make them feel q little bit worse and their day a bit darker?

Do I look for Christ in each one I meet,

or do I look for things to judge negatively?

Do I praise Your Name or do I complain?

Do I bring hope or discouragement?

Put a guard on my tongue and on my face and on my heart, Lord.

Let me be an encourager, not a complainer.

Let me share hope, not worry or anxiety.

Let me not choose darkness, but be a light bearer,

bringing Your shining light everywhere I go

 and to everyone I meet.

Let me bring encouragement and joy rather

 than discouragement and despair.

Fill me anew with Your Holy Spirit.

Empower me, equip me, enable me to be used by You as a light bearer,

a joy bringer, a hope imparter…a reflection of Jesus. Amen.

- From a Christian magazine devoted to healing ministries in the church

Reflective question: Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 3:3 above, what kind of a letter are you during this unsettled and stressful time of a pandemic?

Reflective Scripture:  1 Corinthians 11:1– “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.”

Reflective hymn:

“Make Me a Blessing” – Ira Wilson (1880-1950)

Out in the highways and byways of life, many are weary and sad.

Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife, making the sorrowing glad.

Make me a blessing, make me a blessing; out of my life, may Jesus shine.

Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray. Make me a blessing to someone today.