Letters of Recommendation

What is a letter of recommendation? I found myself asking. And why do you need one? 

A letter of recommendation gets you into college with the scholarship you worked so hard to receive. A letter of recommendation helps you get that position for the job that you love. A letter of recommendation is something that testifies to your character. Something that shows you are worthy of what you are seeking. The report of someone else that allows you entrance into something you want. 

At the beginning of 2 Corinthians 3, Paul uses the analogy of a letter of recommendation to teach us something about our identity and mission in life. 

"You are a letter of recommendation," he says.  

A letter of recommendation that is written by God on our hearts to be delivered to a hurting, broken, and condemned world. 

Our hearts are like a letter that recommends the gospel to the world. When people read the lines of our lives, they see that the gospel is believable, true, and life-changing. We, like letter of recommendation, testify to the wonderful character of God. We show that he is worthy of our devotion. When people see our hearts and the letter of recommendation written in it, they know that they also can receive this gospel of grace, this free gift of redemption that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

In the same way, our report (the recommendation of the gospel, written on our hearts) allows the entrance of the gospel into the lives of people who are seeking something deeper, like a satisfaction that cannot be found in the things of this world. 

Picture this: you are a letter, stamped and sealed, sent out by the hand of God into the world to offer a hope, peace, love, joy, and purpose in life that can only be found in the kingdom of Christ. That's an identity worth pursuing, a calling worth following, and a mission worth living.