Are you a social media scroller, liker, and sharer? I know I am. Words mean life to me as a writer. And pictures? Well, as a story-teller, those mean legacy to me. But sometimes, as I’m scrolling through, liking and sharing away, I have to ask myself a question:
Am I living what I’m liking?
Am I swallowing what I’m sharing?
That’s when things start to get real inside.
Often, when applying for a new job, one thing that’s required is a letter of recommendation. These letters are requested from people who have seen your character from various perspectives. These brief words that start with a “To Whom it May Concern” and end with a signature of sincerity put on paper what is lived in life and either fan the flames or extinguish opportunities to make a new impact.
Our Lives Are Letters
Paul talks about how as believers, our lives are letters of Christ to the world. Whew. That’s pretty serious.
If I claim His name, I want to read well to people, not just with words, but with wholeness and authenticity.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Before professing something with my lips that I’m learning, I need to first let it seep into my life.” user=”@JaymeHull @EmilyPMeyer” hashtags=”#write, #betterlife”]When I view my life as a holistic letter that represents something beyond myself, that challenges me to respond to God’s refining penetration of my heart before setting out to change hearts by myself.
Perhaps that’s how we can all write better letters with our lives. More than sending out live tweets, we must sit a little longer with life-transforming tweaks.
I like what I once heard Lysa Terkeurst say, “Things will fall apart if we make that public declaration if it isn’t our personal revelation.”
Authenticity
If authenticity and truth are what we crave, it’s in the caves of quiet we must let the two marry before we speak so loudly about it.
Even when we speak, we will surely still stumble. But it will be a redeemed stumble that produces more surefootedness, amen? It will be a walk that matches the talk and represents the transformation brought by the flawless ink of the Holy Spirit well.
Don’t stop tweeting, sharing, and liking the good stuff. But don’t let what’s shouted on your platforms mask the whispered heart shaping that God longs to do in your prayer room.
[easy-tweet tweet=”What’s tattooed on our hearts makes our life’s letter read better. ” user=”@EmilyPMeyer” hashtags=”#write, #letter, “]When the beat of our hearts matches the rhythm of our integrity with the love and truth of God, then we know we’re living a better letter.
What we write on paper (or with pixels) is only theory until it’s etched into hearts and lived sincerely.
“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 Corinthians 3:3
Visit Emily’s website http://www.emilypmeyer.com
“More than sending out live tweets, we must sit a little longer with life-transforming tweaks.” Oh how I love this quote, Emily!! I too, am often swallowed up in social media activity because I love all things “social” – thanks for the reminder, Emily, to keep it real with Jesus, first.
Emily,
I was immediately drawn to your post just based off the title. I love to write and want to badly for my life to look as good as it does via social media. I think those questions you initially asked, “Am I living what I’m liking?” and “Am I swallowing what I’m sharing?” are very powerful. If we put more effort and attention to our character, how we spend our time, investing in others (offline), and if we actually absorbed all of the biblical truth we read, and insight we observed, what kind of people would we be? I imagine very powerful warriors for the Kingdom.
Great post!