Read Any Good Books Lately?

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

(2 Cor. 3: 2-3)

I recently read a true story about a man named Darryl. Darryl was 40 years old, never married, and not a very attractive guy. He was shy, but he loved working with the young people in his church. The youth group took on a project of leading a monthly service at a local nursing home, but since Darryl didn’t like nursing homes, he agreed to drive the van but not participate in the service. On the day their first service began, Darryl stood at the very back of the room and leaned against the wall. Suddenly he felt someone grab his hand, and he looked down and saw a very old man whose eyes were closed. Darryl didn’t even know if the man could even hear or speak, but since he didn’t know anything else to do, he just kept holding the old man’s hand. When the service ended, Darryl was still holding the man’s hand and he realized that he didn’t want to let go. He leaned over and whispered, “I’ve got to go now...but I’ll be back…I promise.” Without looking up or saying a word the old man squeezed Darryl’s hand and then let go. Darryl was surprised to find tears in his eyes, and then he heard himself say to the old man, “I love you,” and he wondered, “Where did that come from? I hate nursing homes.”

Darryl returned the next month, and for several months afterward. Each time he would stand at the back and hold the old man’s hand. Darryl had learned that the man’s name was Oliver, and each time he had to leave Darryl would lean over and say, “I love you, Oliver.” One month they arrived and the service started but Oliver wasn’t there. Darryl didn’t worry at first because it often took time for the nurses to wheel all the patients in. But when Oliver didn’t show up halfway through the service, Darryl asked the nurse and she motioned for him to follow her, and she led him to Oliver’s room. Oliver was lying in bed and it was obvious that he was dying. Darryl sat down beside the bed and held Oliver’s hand, but there was no response. Finally the youth minister came and gently told Darryl it was time to leave. Darryl bent over and said, “Goodbye Oliver, I love you.” Then he felt pressure on his hand. With his eyes full of tears Darryl stumbled for the door and almost ran into a young woman who was entering. He said, “I’m sorry.” She said, “That’s okay, in fact, I’ve been waiting to see you. I’m Oliver’s granddaughter. When the doctor told me he didn’t have much more time I came last night and I’ve been sitting with him. The nurses told me he couldn’t talk, but they were wrong. Grandpa talked to me last night.” She choked back her own tears as she continued, “Last night he woke up and looked at me and said with a clear voice, ‘Tell Jesus goodbye for me.’ I was so shocked that it caught me off guard. I said, ‘Grandpa, I don’t have to say goodbye to Jesus. You’ll see Him soon, and you can say ‘hello’ to Him.’ Then grandpa’s eyes lit up again and he smiled and said, ‘I know, but Jesus comes to see me every month to hold my hand, and he might not know that I have gone.’ Then he closed his eyes and he hasn’t opened them since. I told the nurse and she told me that you were the one who holds grandpa’s hand. I wanted to thank you for him, and for me. I’ve never thought of Jesus being chubby and bald, like you, but I can imagine that Jesus is glad to have had you mistaken for Him. I know grandpa is...thank you.” Then she kissed Darryl on the cheek and within hours, Oliver had slipped on to be with Jesus.

In His wisdom God has communicated with mankind in a number of different ways. He has displayed His wisdom and power in creation. He has revealed His mind and heart through the Bible. He has taught us his mercy and grace in the cross of Christ. He has used angels, burning bushes, signs in the heavens, giant fish, storms, prophets – once He even used a donkey! And as appropriate as each of these means of communication were for their time and place, none of them compares to the Excellency of God’s greatest means of communication – Jesus, the Living Word of God.

But there is still one more method the Lord employs to communicate His message. The verse above says that followers of Jesus are letters. The intended purpose of every letter is simple – to convey a message. God has purposed our lives to communicate to the world the nature of His love. We are letters which people read every day. There are thousands who never read about Christ in the Bible but will still see Him by observing the lives of His followers. Have you ever wondered what is being communicated by your actions and attitudes? Has anyone ever mistaken you for Jesus because of the love you’ve shown? The old cliché is true: You may be the only Bible some people ever read.

Darryl was a love letter from Jesus. Even though he spoke very little, his actions clearly conveyed one of the most important messages of the Bible – God’s irrational, everlasting, healing love. It doesn’t take a lot of fancy, large words to communicate the message - just a person with a large heart. Why not make it a point to reveal the message to those around you today? I can pretty much guarantee, somebody near you is longing for it.

Looking for a good book to read,

PT