You Are A Letter of Christ

You are                                                                           our letter,
                                         written on                               our hearts,
                              known and read by all men.
You show                             that            
you are                        A letter of Christ
                                          cared for                                 by us,
                                           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

      Peddlers had hit Corinth.  They come with letters of commendation and attempt to sweep Paul off his feet.  In a loose sense of the term, we could call these people "Judaizers," as they promote Judaism.  One can imagine these Judaizers asking the church in Corinth, "where is Paul's letter of commendation?"  Yeah, Paul, where is your letter of commendation?  Paul responds, "do we need like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?"
      Ironically, Paul sent these letters commendation frequently and was by no means against them.  For example, "whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem" (1 Cor. 16: 3).  However, Paul sees the absurdity of grappling with these Judaizers.
      Plus, was Paul not commended on the road to Damascus?  Was this not all the commending Paul needed to go and make disciples?  Indeed this life changing experience is what caused the existence of the church in Corinth - the living proof that Paul has been commended by the Holy Spirit.  So, Paul challenges Corinth to turn to the same page he is on.  He challenges them to move beyond the old covenant, because whether or not they like it the prophecy of Ezekiel 36:26-27 has come true.  Come on Corinth this is real life - it is written on our hearts - you yourselves are living proof.
     I am a senior and will graduate with a bachelor in Religion.  Odds are that I am going to go into vocational ministry.  This passage is encouraging.  If I am truly called into vocational ministry then I am commended by the Holy Spirit.  I am sure there will be those who try and undercut my ministry and demand my letter of commendation, but will not the fruits of my ministry with the Holy Spirit be enough?  Yes, this will suffice.  Now, this is not an excuse to be polemical or defiant, using the Holy Spirit as an excuse every time anything arises.  Anyways, you get the point.