I was the NYI (Nazarene Youth International) President at my church. We didn’t yet have a youth pastor so it was my responsibility to corral the teen group. When the church started interviewing for a youth pastor position, I was thrilled. Although I enjoyed being with the teens, I didn’t know what I was doing. The church board settled on a young man who had a college degree in church ministry and had been ordained. Excellent credentials indeed.
As he began his ministry at the church, many of the teens called by his first name or Mr. “_____”. They were used to doing this because that’s how they addressed me. However, this young man would have no part of that. He would tell the teens to please address him as “Pastor” because he felt he had, “earned” the title. He wore the “title” like a robe. And though this young pastor was dynamic and quite imaginative, his ministry never took off. He was at the church for several years, but the teen group never really grew.
I love what the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2, “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved…“ (v.15). He goes on to say, “And who is equal to such a task? 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.” (vv.16-17)
Through us, people smell the sweet scent of Christ. The only Bible some people will ever read is our life. “Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you – not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; nor chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives.” (2 Corinthians 3:1-3) Not everyone can or will read books – but everyone we encounter can, and will, read our lives.
What will your life smell like today?
Living Life by Design 
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