Connections

I am a person who loves discovering connections. I get really excited and want to share my discovery with others. So, I have found a connection and I want to share it with you all.

Tonight in my bible study here at Whitworth, we were studying Galatians 6. Verse 17 says, "Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." As soon as we read this aloud, I made a connection with our devotional and the smell that we give off. I found two things to be very significant about this verse. One relating to what Reid was saying at the training this past weekend about not being ashamed of our faith and going out to speak with others about this opportunity we have this summer. The other connection being that bearing the marks of Jesus is like smelling of life. This morning one of the things that I thought about was the idea that if we live a Christ centered life, those around us will smell life on us. Is it fair of me to say that serving others, serving Christ and living a Christ centered life will give a fragrance of life? I just loved this connection of not being ashamed of smelling. In our society we tend to not want to smell bad because we don't want to be embarrassed or judged by those around us. A smell of any kind, whether good or bad, is going to be noticed. If it is a good smell, the smell of life, we should not be ashamed. The smell of life is like bearing the marks of Jesus on our body. We should not be ashamed of our faith. We should not be ashamed to smell of life and to bear the marks of Christ. I think this is such a great reminder as we go out and prepare for our time to serve Christ this summer.

On a side note... not necessarily related to anything but just something that I want to share... As I was flying back to Spokane after the training on Sunday, I was reading through my Super Ultra Packet. I got to talking with the woman sitting next to me and she asked what I was reading. I was able to share with her about Sonshine and the opportunity that I have been given to serve this summer on Shasta. I don't know if she was a Christian or not, but it was a good conversation to have. She kept saying how it seemed like a very unique ministry and how cool it was that I had the opportunity to serve. How awesome is that? God works in great ways!

Blessings to you all!