[church bulletin, 6th & Washington Sts., Marietta, OH, Nov. 18, 2001, pp. 1, 3.]

Recently, you may have seen the United States Postal Service commercial. The commercial is a wonderful description of the effort that is put forth by those who faithfully deliver mail throughout our country. I am thankful for the dedication these hard-working people portray by their service every day. With the recent craze of e-mails and other forms of electronic communication, the use of "snail mail" has been affected. However, I strongly believe it will go on as a constant method of communication because of its strong sense of reliability.

What would you think of your mail carrier if he or she opened a letter addressed to you and added a few words to it? What if he or she took some white-out and deleted a few words from the letter addressed to you? Even if it were just a couple of words, you would be extremely upset, wouldn't you?

Writing to the church at Corinth concerning the Gospel of Christ, Paul said, "For I have delivered to you first of all that which I also received…" (1 Corinthians 15:3). In a casual glance at this passage, we may not realize the attitude Paul is demonstrating with this opening phrase. Paul was truly saying that he was not the one who wrote the Letter. He did not add any of his own words to the message. He was simply the mail carrier.

Today in religion, we have some folks who not only desire to deliver the mail, but they also want to add a few words to the message. It may not seem like they add very much, but it is enough to change the message. Others desire to "white-out" part of the message. Their beliefs conflict with God's Word, so it is very convenient for them to get rid of some parts.

We would never want our mail carrier to tamper with our mail in any way. So, why do we put up with people tampering with God's mail?

Jesus says we are the "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13). Salt is a great preservative. We must truly be God's salt and preserve his Word. We must deliver the mail without tampering with it. If you do not tell your neighbor the truth about God's Word, who else will? If you do not tell your family member the truth about God's Word, who else will? God desires you to be his mail carrier. Have you delivered anything lately?