August 5, 2020 | Dan Low

Stay at least six feet apart. Wear a facial covering. Wash our hands frequently with soap and warm water. Avoid large gatherings. These are essential steps that we’ve been taking to keep ourselves and one another safe. One lesson that we have learned during this pandemic: The coronavirus spreads easily and rapidly between persons.

As we take the necessary measures and precautions recommended by the medical and public health authorities, another kind of spread comes to mind. In his second letter to Corinth, Paul praises the 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” (2:14-15). Despite multiple serious problems inside the Corinthian assembly, their founding father never lost hope in the God who triumphantly leads us to victory and gladly uses us to spread the sweet aroma of knowing him wherever we go. If a person chooses to reject the gospel, our aroma signals death. But if someone chooses to embrace Jesus, our aroma represents life.

By growing in our knowledge of God and participating in Jesus’ victory over sin, we supernaturally spread this aroma to everyone. Let’s pray that our Father in heaven would graciously use our Bread of Life community, especially in this critically important season, to spread eternal life to others through our resilient trust in him, our genuine compassion toward others, our devotion to doing good, and, most of all, our clear proclamation of Jesus as our Living Hope.