Philippians 2:14-16 English Standard Version

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Paul led the Philippians to Christ. Who led you to Christ?

For me it was Don and Betty Williams. They were the first to show me the love of God in its truest form. They have gone on to be with the Lord and they leave in the wake of their absence a flood of children that call them mom and dad Williams.

One thing was true during all my visits that never changed, ever. They prayed over me every time. Consistency in the face of change in my life said that no matter what I was going through in my life, their love for me remained consistent.

So much of this life in Christ is growth and maturing. We follow Christ and our paths take us away from our origins and when our focus is on the Lord, it might be a long time before we look back on the ones that led us here.

Not everyone had parenting like Timothy.

2 Timothy 1:5

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Paul gave credit where credit was due, honor where honor was due. I would call them from time to time and never hung up without reminding them how much they meant to me.

John 13:15

For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Remember who got this ball rolling. Keep it going.

2 Corinthians 3:3

And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

What does that have to do with scribes?

The Hebrew word for scribe is סָפַר çâphar, saw-far’; a primitive root; properly, to score with a mark as a tally or record, i.e. (by implication) to inscribe, and also to enumerate; intensively, to recount, i.e. celebrate:—commune. By function scribes were assigned the task of copying the scrolls meticulously so that all the synagogues had exactly the same words to be read to those attending. Parchments were expensive and fragile. Accuracy in transcribing was important or the transmission of God’s Word would be useless.

Over time the importance of scribes was elevated in human terms i.e. self-worth, pride as recounted in the New Testament by Jesus Himself.

 In their regime piety was reduced to external formalism. Only that was of value which was governed by external precept. Life under them became a burden; they themselves sought to evade certain of their own precepts, Mat 23:16, ff.; Luk 11:46; by their traditions the Law, instead of being a help in moral and spiritual life, became an instrument for preventing true access to God, Luk 11:52. Hence the Lord’s stern denunciations of them and the Pharisees.

Reference source Strong’s Definitions

As I write this, I copy and paste from internet sources I trust and I do not alter them. In that sense I am a scribe. I add personal comments, in that sense I am a scribbler.

What I know to write comes from what is written in my heart. The Spirit gives voice to the Living Word by faith. I have no idea what is needed for any reader, but He does.

I am no teacher and I do not pretend to be one. I think of myself as a secretary taking dictation. I resisted the temptation to become a scribe once I learned that they were an instrument of preventing true access to God.

“Show that you are a letter from Christ” is a matter of living out this life in Christ with all the integrity we can muster, failed humans that we are but chosen to deliver His Word.