Scripture Reading
2 Corinthians 2:14-15
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
Reflection
Paul reaches for the most intimate and involuntary of the senses — smell — to describe the Christian's influence in the world. You cannot see an aroma, and yet it reaches people before any word is spoken. Our lives, immersed in Christ, give off something that others notice: not always named, not always welcomed, but real. Ask God today to make you fragrant with his presence — a person in whose company others sense something they cannot quite explain.
Prayer for Today
Father, Today I celebrate the reality of Your presence in my life. I celebrate Your birth, Your life, Your death, and Your resurrection. And as I celebrate, Lord, help me to be "God with skin on" to those in need around me. Open my eyes and let me see them as You see them! I love You. Happy birthday Jesus! In Jesus name, Amen.
Amen.