The Perfect Pen Pal

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:13-16; 2 Corinthians 3:1-6; 5:11-21

Rose squealed in excitement when her Mom handed her a letter. “It’s from my new pen pal!” Rose had been waiting for weeks to hear back from her pen pal. Her homeschool group had joined a pen pal service where they paired up kids from different states. “She’s from Ohio—that’s not too far from Michigan,” Rose noted as she ripped the envelope open.

Curling up on the couch, Rose poured over every word of the letter. “Mom, she’s the perfect pen pal! Her name is Lily—and get this, our birthdays are only one day apart! Lily even likes fashion, and I didn’t even tell her I do too! I can’t wait to send her some drawings of the outfits I’ve created.”

“Sounds like God matched you both up perfectly,” Mom responded with a smile.

When Rose placed her letter to Lily in the mailbox the following day, she was contemplative. “You know, Mom, I’ve been thinking about something. I learned so much about Lily from just one letter. In one of my devotions this week, I was reading about how we can be letters that people read in the way we live our lives. I wonder what people read when they look at my life.”

“That’s a tough thing to think about, but necessary,” Mom said as they turned to walk back home. “In the book of Second Corinthians, Paul was writing to the church in Corinth. He wanted to remind them of the new people they were in Christ. Remember how before Jesus came, there were all those rules of the old covenant the people were required to follow?”

“Yes, but when Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He changed everything,” Rose recalled. “He gives those who trust in Him His goodness and His Holy Spirit, who is always with us.”

Mom nodded. “Paul told the believers in Corinth that they were now able to show others a glimpse of the new covenant by the way they lived their lives. This better covenant wasn’t written on stone like the Ten Commandments, but written on their hearts.”

“Living letters!” Rose skipped down the dirt road. “I’m not perfect, but I know Jesus. I’m going to pray that when people look at my life, they will see Him.”

-Savannah Coleman

How About You?

Do you have a pen pal you like to write to? If so, you know the excitement of getting a letter from them. Imagine how excited the recipients of Paul’s letters were! Paul reminded the followers of Christ in Corinth that their lives were like letters to those around them. Trust Jesus to help you live in a way so others will see His goodness shining through you. You are a living letter from Him.

Today’s Key Verse:
2 Corinthians 3:3 You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Be a living letter for Jesus