Monday, April 2, 2012

A Whiff of Christ

Scripture Verse that caught my attention today: 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.

Observation: Paul understood the Lord as the leader of God’s people, the one whom they follow.

Application: There is a subtle but important difference between leaders leading and leaders being led. Leaders that lead from their own store of strength and acumen are often quite talented and, in the eyes of many, successful. But leaders who are being led (at least those led by the Spirit of God) have a little different nature to them. They too will be successful, but it will be measured in alternative terms. Their motivation comes from outside themselves. It is a calling not so much to leadership, but to service through the medium of leadership. In other words, leadership is just another form of serving.

The idea Paul proposes is that Christ is the master leader and that the rest of us (whether as those serving through leadership or through other means) are merely following in his footsteps. Yet though those of us who follow wafts the fragrance of the One who walks ahead.

This week (Holy Week) that “fragrance” will be of death come to life.

Prayer: Lord, it has been said that the sense of smell is one of the most powerful and memorable of our senses. I don’t know exactly what death comes to life smells like—and it’s not something I can manufacture on my own—but I pray that I might walk close enough to you to catch a whiff of it. And I pray that others might do the same, either from you directly or from the rest of us who endeavor to follow as we are able. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Judges 13-16 and 2 Corinthians 2)

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