"Papers"

You don’t ride the papers,

Good horses still come grade,

That’s what my daddy told me,

It’s how they work, he said.

And I’ve had some along the way,

That really worked out fine,

But no one knew how they were bred,

Their papers lost in time.

And most of us have papers, too,

In drawers and files, you see,

And I went back to take a look,

The memories of me.

The place and time that I was born,

And schools where I was taught,

Lots of taxes that I paid,

Receipts from what I bought.

I found “to do” lists that I had,

And yellowed old schedules,

I found the dreams that I wrote down,

And the goals I hoped to fuel.

Notes and letters, thank you’s,

Christmas cards, birthdays,

People who have lived and died,

And blessed me many ways.

And most of it, no need to keep,

But I kept ‘em anyway,

Doubt that I’ll go back again,

To read the stuff they say.

But papers aren’t the biggest thing,

About our lives you see,

But how we live and what we do,

The folks God helps us be.

The Book says we’re a letter,

Being written as we go,

The Holy Spirit writes it,

So others read and know,

That God is working through us,

And calls them all to come,

To have the grace that saves and heals,

And all can get them some.

God says we are the paper,

His writes His love upon,

And everyone can read it,

And know His only Son.

“Your lives are a letter…” (2 Corinthians 3:2, NLT)

This is one of the most beautiful things Paul ever said. He described the people he had led to Christ as letters written in his heart and for all the world to see. He goes on to describe that it is the Holy Spirit who authors the letter, so that God may communicate through us His love and purpose for others. What a great way of looking at it! The art of letter-writing has been replaced by emails, texts, and other means of communication. But God is still in the letter-writing business, and He writes the ongoing story of his grace on our lives’ pages everyday. Praise the Lord.

Lord, write Your love on the pages of our lives, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Alfredo Rodriguez, alfredoartist.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Alfredo, and God bless you.