Love Letters from Heaven

I have had a lot of thoughts over the past month or so about death, heaven and the way I live my life in the here and now.

It started with the death of a dear friend.   She was 95 years old and a believer so I know I will see her again but it's still hard to say goodbye.  It's especially hard to see the toll her loss has taken on her 98 year old husband and on her children who are also dear friends. 

In the wake of her passing I came across a couple of verses in my daily Bible study (that also happens to be the reading plan our church is doing together) that really stood out to me. The first was:

 II Corinthians 4:16 - Therefore we do not lose heart.  Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 

I thought it was not only a great reminder that our souls survive and don't die the way our bodies do - but also that, while our bodies age and break down, our inward self is being strengthened and renewed as we grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our growing knowledge increases our love for Him and we are internally renewed and rejuvenated!

The second verse was:

II Corinthians 5:4 - For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.

I LOVE this thought!  That when our bodies pass away, we, in our mortality, are swallowed up - BY LIFE!  We die to death and we are then fully alive!  Yes, we creak and groan under the burdens in life - because we were created for a glorious future where Jesus unloads those burdens and gives us rest. 

In light of this, I was considering how I am supposed to get through each day - especially on the days like the past few I've had - recovering from a very busy weekend and losing an hour to the time change!  And that's when I remembered a couple of verses and thoughts from my Bible study a couple of weeks ago:

II Corinthians 2:14 - Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

We don't have a choice, God diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge everywhere we go.  We are big diffusers, spreading the sweet smell of life in Christ throughout the world!  Just the thought of that is exciting and helps renew my inner soul!  And I know that God provides the strength and energy with every opportunity He sends my way.

The next day this verse came up in my reading:

II Corinthians 3:3 - Clearly you are an epistle of Christ,  ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on flesh, that is, of the heart.

An epistle is a letter - we are love letters to the world.  On our hearts are written the love of Christ and when people see us, they should be able to read that love letter clearly written.  We shouldn't be hiding it as if it were personal or confidential and no one's business what it contains.   It is meant to be shared.

All these verses make me excited about life!  And they make me excited about my future!  And they give me peace about my ultimate physical death.

I think these last 2 verses make clear what my assignment is while I remain on this earth - to share Christ's love and to smell good doing it!😉