I have two young friends who have just graduated from college and are now about to cross one of the final frontiers ushering them into adulthood – finding a job. Not just a summer job to bring in enough money for gas, but a “real” job. A career. How to put those years of studying, tuition, and growth into a résumé so a potential employer will, at the very least, want an interview? How to communicate the progress and accomplishments to this point without inviting every past employer or professor to the interview with them? A letter of recommendation might be just the thing.
A good letter of recommendation can summarize strengths and weaknesses of an employee while also listing specific skills and accomplishments in previous positions. It can, in a nutshell, let someone know what kind of person you are by way of a credible reference.
This concept of letters of recommendation was even more important for getting to know people before the days of myspace, facebook, and google. When the apostle Paul was traveling from place to place, making tents and spreading the good news of Christ’s love for broken people, residents of towns he would visit couldn’t google him to see what he had done before his arrival. There are several places in letters of the New Testament where Paul tries to convince an audience that he is who he says he is and that God did, in fact, send him on his mission with spiritual credentials.
Look at the following passage:
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3 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.
4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:1-6)
Paul spends some time in most of his letters describing his qualifications for being where and who he is in any given city. Sometimes it’s to say that all the things that old school religion says would qualify him aren’t worth squat, and sometimes it’s to say that he is an apostle just like the twelve who followed Jesus, because Christ was the One who called him to his purpose, too.
So what does it mean to be a human letter of recommendation? A good letter of recommendation will highlight for others the best of what has taken place in the course of a relationship – professional or academic. The unique aspect of what Paul is describing is that it is 100% relational: our relationship with each other and our relationship with God. Both are reflected in a person who lives life in such a way that others see a connection to our Creator. This is the letter that others read. God is the author and the world is the reader.
What’s in a good letter of recommendation? A letter of recommendation is usually written by a person who knows the applicant and will be read by a potential employer. (In my day they were sent on pretty paper with the résumé, but now everything is simply an electronic attachment.) The contents are the result of the applicant’s efforts and accomplishments during her tenure at any given place of employment or institution of learning. When Paul talks about human letters of recommendation, he uses terminology consistent with this concept. What does he say about his letters of recommendation?
1. Written on our hearts (verse 2) – This letter is not on paper to be passed around and read in an office. It is a collection of wisdom and experience from communing with God and other believers that can be viewed by anyone with eyes to see. When someone has invested in a relationship with us that is centered on Christ, our hearts are different.
2. Known and read by everybody (verse 2) – A human letter of recommendation reveals what God has been pouring into our lives as well as the influence of people He’s chosen to use to transform us into His image. We can make great efforts to only put our best face on for the world to see, but what is a natural overflow from the transformation God is effecting has a great impact on those around us.
3. Result of ministry (verse 3) – Ministry is not just for missionaries and pastors. The ministry that Paul talks about is simply an intentional investment in others in which we allow God to use our life experience and what He and others have taught us to cause others to press in deeper with Him. These kinds of relationships result in human letters of recommendation – a life that reflects God’s relational activity in our lives.
4. Written with the Spirit (verse 3) – In spite of our best efforts to disciple other Christians or instruct our children in spiritual matters, all growth toward God is the result of the Holy Spirit. This is both humbling and liberating as we remember that our responsibility is only to be responsive and obedient to God’s prompting.
God is all about our connections with Him and with each other for the greater purpose of showing the world His glory. The Holy Spirit is doing the real work and we get to be willing and active participants in the process if we choose to be.
As I’ve reflected on this passage this week, I’ve been reminded of some of the women who have allowed me to walk this journey with them and I’m grateful to have shared in the growing process and to have seen God do amazing things in and through them. Whether the process has been formal discipleship or just doing life together, I can list several cherished human letters of recommendation to go along with my eternal résumé. (Ladies, you know who you are. I love you.) And verse 6 of this passage reminds us that we are “competent ministers of a new covenant”. We are all adequately equipped to help each other grow into these human letters of recommendation. It’s not just a job for ministry leaders or pastors or “Monster Christians”, as my friend calls them. In the name of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are all called to invest in each other.
• Take a moment to list people who have invested in your spiritual growth. Pray for them today. If God prompts you, call or write them to let them know you appreciate their investment.
• Who are you helping to become a human letter of recommendation? Is there someone in your circle of influence that God may be leading you to connect with?
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