Back to Corinth: 2 Cor. 6: 1-18

Verses 11-12: “O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.”

In the 1965 Pink Panther cartoon, Pink Ice, the Panther is running a diamond mine in South Africa. However, all his diamonds continue to be stolen by rival mine owners, Devereaux and Hoskins. When the bumbling duo attempts to get rid of the Panther, he uses good ol’ fashioned cartoon tricks to ultimately make them distrust each other and have them at each other’s throats, all the while taking their diamonds in return. This was one of those rare Pink Panther cartoons where the Panther actually spoke (the voices of the Panther, Devereaux, and Hoskins were provided by the legendary voice actor, Rich Little.)

Though very humorous to watch how the Panther gets Devereaux and Hoskins to begin sniping at each other and eventually antagonize each other, there are people today and back in Biblical times who would set people against each other. This happened in the case of Paul and the Corinthian church; false prophets had filled the church with lies about Paul, and the church didn’t return the affection back to Paul that he had honestly and openly shown them. Paul correctly admonishes them, telling them that they are their own worst enemy; that Paul and his company of missionaries are not restricting them, but they are hurting themselves.

How many times have we allowed our own misconceptions or groundless beliefs about something to get in the way of the Lord’s work? We need to listen to the truth from Jesus Christ, He who is the Truth. Think how much the church could do today if all its members were united in following God, and not trying to add a comma where God put a period?

Something to think about.

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Back to Corinth: 2 Cor. 3: 1-18

Verses 2-3: “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 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 tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”

We need to give thought to what kind of legacy we show to others. Have you ever heard of Howard Odell? Chances are, unless you are a die-hard University of Washington fan, you probably don’t know him. Odell was the head football coach of the Huskies from 1948 to 1952. Among one of his assistants he had at the time was Don Coryell, who later went on to fame in the NFL of the San Diego Chargers. Coryell once had an assistant there named Ray Perkins. Perkins later coached the New York Giants and had two assistants of note: Bill Parcells, who succeeded him as head coach, and Bill Belichick, who served under Perkins and Parcells. Now you’re probably recognizing some names; if not, please read on. Belichick is the current longtime head coach of the New England Patriots and had an assistant who later went on to lead not one but two different college football teams to win the national championship. I think even the most casual football fan recognizes his name: Nick Saban.

What a coaching tree that is, rooted in a man named Howard Odell. Other famous coaches have similar trees: Nick Saban himself, Bear Bryant, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, just to name a few.

What about the legacy of a man named Edward Kimball? Try this on for thought:
Sunday School teacher Edward Kimball helped lead Dwight L. Moody to Christ;
J. Wilbur Chapman was converted at a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting;
Billy Sunday was converted at a Chapman meeting;
Mordecai Ham was converted at Billy Sunday meeting;
and Billy Graham was converted at a Ham meeting.

And yes, we mean THAT Billy Graham! That list was sourced from https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/84109-from-moody-to-graham

Paul here is commenting on the false prophets who upset the Corinthian church; among some of the things they tried to do to justify their reputation was to produce false letters of recommendation. Paul is stating here that he never needed such letters, because the Corinthian converts “are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 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 tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”

Think about the legacy you’re leaving. Are you sowing seeds today that will help produce a harvest for Christ?

Something to think about.

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