The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.
Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is w ritten not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. (2 Cor 3:2-3)
We are living letters, walking Bibles, on display and read by everyone. You are the only “Bible” that some people will read. You are a letter not written in ink on tablets of stone or even paper. You are a letter with His Word written in your heart and all over your life by the Spirit of God.
Paul then uses an interesting word for “tablets of stone”. He uses the Greek word πλαξ (plax) a plate or tablet. This is a word filled with meaning. It was used in the ancient world to denote a phenomena in the Ancient Near East for authenticating a message. In that world if a king wanted to send a message to another king he had the message written on a clay tablet. That clay tablet was then enclosed with a clay “envelope”. The same message was written on the outside of the clay envelope. When the recipient received the letter he read (or had it read to him) the message written on the outside. To authenticate that the message had not tampered with or adulterated the outside envelope was broken revealing the same message within. If the message written inside matched the message written on the outside the message was authenticated. Now how significant is that! Isn’t that the point with us as living letters?
Our inner and outer being have to match. To the degree that they match we have inner peace. The degree to which they do not match results in inner tension. Those whose outer message doesn’t match the inner message live in duplicity. They live double lives. There is a counterfeit to the truth. The Bible talks of double minded men (and women) being unstable in all their ways. What is really being said Biblically is that man has two souls. The Greek term used is δίψυχος [di-psuchos] meaning to have two souls; two persona.
As non-Christians look at us they seek Christians who practise the truth they profess. They don’t want hypocrisy. They want to see that the outer and the inner life matches. In modern computer terminology – what you see is what you get. What he says is what he does.
Integrity and being integrated (or achieving personal oneness or unity) are important components to finding inner peace. Inner peace comes from peace with God. The degree to which we work out that principle determines the quality of our unity of soul. The level of unity or oneness between our inner man and our outer man is crucial to finding ourselves and to having a good self image. Dissonance between the inner and the outer man in our own personalities does not produce a healthy self image. Work on bringing unity in your inner being; matching your outer life and your inner life and bringing the two into harmony.
You will be happier and more at peace. Why? Because it is also the key to finding peace with God. You will be more in tune with His Word and therefore more complete in Him. Living the truth of His Word.