Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
2 Corinthians 2:12-17 (NIV)
Ministers of the New Covenant
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. 14 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. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ, we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
Describe the relationship between Paul and Titus. What resulted?
Lord let my prayer and praise to You be like sweet incense. As I worship together with others at church on Sunday and hear the combined voices around me, I can just imagine our words swirling up to Your throne in heaven like the old testament food offerings that brought a pleasing aroma to You. Allow the joy of Your salvation and the aroma of the knowledge of Your love filter out into the community and attract those who do not know You toward You. The community of many, joining together as Your Body, brings me strength, courage, love and fills my heart with Your everlasting joy. I pray that all would know You personally to understand the power of community. Use me to welcome those who don’t know You, to come partner in the celebration that will last for eternity. Amen