II Corinthians 2: 12-17
Now when I came to Troas for the Gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord,
Troas was on the way to Macedonia. It's where Luke joined Paul, and where they got a ship to sail a good part of the way.
I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother;
He had expected for Titus to also be there in Troas, but he wasn't.
but taking leave of them, I went on to Macedonia.
But he did take Timothy and Luke with him.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
I love this, that we produce the sweet aroma of Christ.
For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;
to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?
This is the stench of death to those who will never come to Christ, but is the sweet savor of Life from the Savior to those who know Him! Amazing that the same fragrance would be perceived so differently by different people.
I spoke about this in my blog of September 15, 2018, and again on January 9, 2019.
For we are not like many, peddling [corrupting, dealing deceitfully with] the Word of God, but from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.
Paul genuinely loved the people he encountered, that's why he traveled so far and so often; he wanted them all to know the joy of the Lord in knowing His grace and mercy. And he wanted them to grow up in the Lord, so he wrote letters to them, which we know now as the Epistles.
And he knew he would be accountable to God for everything he taught, whether by his words, his manner, his life, or his letters. He was very careful to only teach what he had learned from Jesus Christ Himself.
So we also need to be careful to study the Scriptures to learn what God is saying to us (exegesis), not to look for validation of what we want to find there (eisegesis).
God always says what He means, and He means what He says. We need to understand His words as He means them.
O my Father, help me to always and only proclaim what Your Word is actually telling us, to understand Your heart in what You mean. And to teach others rightly, loving them and wanting them also to get to know You better, to experience Your tender embrace; and to be strong and faithful in living their lives according to Your righteousness in full view of the World around us.
Father, You have Loved us more than we can imagine! Help us to love one another as You have Loved us, so that we will then support each other, and help each other, and lift up each other to You. That we will submit to one another in the humility of putting their interests before our own, regardless of the cost.
And to hear from the Master, "Well done, good and faithful servant"!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and King, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
