While at The Way International Headquarters for an event, a Way Corps minister came up to me to thank me for encouraging my two adult children to be there on Staff. I shared how much they had grown and how blessed they were, and how I was thankful that they were surrounded by such wonderful examples, such as him. I also shared that I had two sons at home and that our whole family had set a big goal of being at the Advanced Class together. I shared my concerns that these two sons were not taking their preparation for this class as seriously as I thought they should. Were they doing their assignments as best they could? Did they really want to go, or was this just another thing I was expecting them to do?
This minister listened to my concerns and asked me their names and ages. I could tell he was logging the information into his memory. He said he would be praying for them. Then he made a very profound statement for someone who had never met my sons. He said, “They are shining as lights in the world!” My initial response was to argue in my head. He said it again, as though he heard me: “They are shining as lights in the world!” Once again, I argued in my head. He repeated it one more time, and God got my attention. I thought, “I get it, God—I need to ‘look up’ and have Your vision for my sons.” I stopped questioning my sons or looking at them with concern, but instead with love and believing! I began to treat and see them differently, and they responded.
Our whole family was at the next Advanced Class, and we had a life-changing experience—with the Word of God that was taught, the healings that we saw, and the love of God we received individually. At the Advanced Class, I went up to this Way Corps minister to personally thank him. He had helped me to elevate my thinking to the level of the Word so I could believe God for success in our family. This minister made a difference in my life as a “living epistle.”
Once we are born again of God’s spirit, each one of us can be a living epistle. Our lives can become “letters of love” for others to “read” as we serve God.
We are living epistles when we live and speak God’s Word to others. We give others a new way of thinking and living as our lives and words display the beauty and love of God.
II Corinthians 3:2,3:
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
As living epistles, we show forth who we are spiritually—who we are in Christ. We manifest the godly qualities we’ve inherited in Christ, thereby making a difference in others’ lives.
A stanza from a poem written by Leroy Brownlow and adapted in God’s Magnified Word illustrates this idea of being epistles, or letters, that all may read:
We are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By the deeds that we do, by the words that we say.
People read what we write, whether faithless or true.
Say! What is the gospel according to YOU?
Each one of us can show forth the goodness of Christ inside by how we live our lives and by the words we speak to others.
The Way Corps minister who loved me and helped me change my view of my two boys was a living epistle. He challenged me to look up and believe God, rather than follow my five senses. He spoke highly of my two children who were on Staff. He listened to me wholeheartedly as I voiced my concerns, and he gathered information about my two boys who wanted to go to the Advanced Class. He offered to pray for them. Like Christ, he exemplified living the Word of God and walking in love. His words and actions painted a picture of how I should think, helping me eliminate my doubt, worry, and fear as I aligned my thinking with God’s Word.
Life can be exciting when we do things God’s way, representing Him in our words and deeds. Our lives become letters of love and make a difference as we manifest the godly qualities of the Christ within. We can touch people’s lives around us by being living epistles, known and read of all men.