LETTERS TO THE WORLD

 

When I was on my mission, it was regularly emphasized to us that we were representatives of Jesus Christ and had to act and speak as the Saviour would. We were, so to speak, no longer ourselves, but were standing in for Christ in all things. It was a large order for a group of kids  considering our tender age.

Apostle Paul suggested to Corinthian saints that they were ‘epistles known and read of all men’ (2 Corinthians 3:2). The suggestion is that we, the members, represent the Church and Christ’s gospel and through our conduct the Church and the gospel are judged. And not only the Church and the principles we have committed to live by, but even Christ himself is judged by the lives we live (see New Testament Institute Manual for abovementioned scripture explanation).

The importance of example cannot be over-rated, however, there is one problem with that. When your friends and colleagues know you are a member, they watch you like a hawk to bear witness of your mistakes. They become your judge. I have been a witness of that. I think we are judged more harshly than members of any other Church. The challenge here is then not to emphasise our mortal ‘perfection’ as members of the Church to those around us but rather our mortal ‘imperfection’ and with it our spiritual dependence on Christ relative to it.

We, like all others, have been born into the weak condition of mortality. Those who know us need to know that when we have been called upon to endure trial, our strength comes from Christ to do so; when we transgress, our forgiveness comes from Christ who shows mercy to the penitent; when we find ourselves in lack, our reliance on Christ to bless us in our need is paramount to our survival. Our example as Christians should be grounded more upon our connection to the Saviour than upon our imperfect knowledge of the Gospel and our even more imperfect adherence to its laws. Our dependence on Him to succor us needs to shine brighter than all else because this is what the world needs the most.

Our connection to Christ is ‘written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart’ (2 Corinthians 3:3). It is in the heart that an anchor to the divine is forged to survive the weak condition of mortality. We are letters written to the world…..letters of hope of deliverance, of strength, of endurance. We are letters of love unfeigned, signed and delivered through the grace of Christ.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Divine Companion by Yongsung Kim)