Daily Devotions
Devotions – Friday, June 7th, 2024
Bible Texts
“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 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 3:2-3)
Reflect
Paul is writing to the Corinthians, and he’s talking about the impact on the Corinthians of having listened to Paul’s teachings in a previous visit. These verses give me a hopeful feeling, and I hope you can feel a hopeful feeling too.
When we interact with others it’s hard to know if we have made any impact in their lives. Maybe we’ve shared their grief or their sorrow. Maybe our youth painted their house on a mission trip. Maybe we’ve tried to encourage a friend when they felt overwhelmed. Maybe we just brought them some soup when they were sick. But rarely do we hear the ending to the story. Did they feel better after we shared their sorrow? Did the painted house have a positive effect on the residents and the neighborhood? Did my friend crawl out from feeling overwhelmed? Did the soup help them feel better last week?
These passages from Paul to the Corinthians give me encouragement. Everything we do out of love for Christ is written on someone’s heart. We can trust our deeds are used to spread the Spirit of the Living God to human hearts.
Pray
Loving God, help me to trust that you are always with me when I’m helping others. Help me to know that your Spirit is writing new things in their hearts. Open my eyes and my heart to be thankful when others do the same for me. Amen.
Devotions by Sue Erickson