2 Corinthians 2

http://www.esvbible.org/2+Corinthians+2/

Paul picks up again (and by that, I mean he didn't have chapter breaks, and this was split up weird, so he's just continuing on) by saying that he didn't want to visit the church when he was distressed. The church should have made him happy, but they were uncomfortable with him, and that made him even more distressed. When we fell in distress, sometimes our connection to God can be momentarily hurt. God doesn't create this distress, but He doesn't manufacture the world so that we will never be in distress. When these things happen, we have to learn how to get out of them. We need to pray, meditate with God, and spend time with Him in the word so that He can bring us perfect peace. Also, while we are on edge, it may be hard to witness to others about Him. If we are feeling this distance, we are not listening for what the Holy Spirit is trying to say through us. Instead, we are thinking merely of ourselves and how pathetic we are. However, God brings joy. And Paul says the same things that bring him joy should bring the Christians in Corinth joy. Christ is true joy.

Paul says if someone sins against us or causes us distress, it doesn't just cause us harm, it causes the whole church community harm. Sometimes, we hold onto a grudge (and sometimes it's as a church or community of believers in some form) but that is not healthy and causes everyone involved to enter a state of distress. As long as we hold these grudges, it is incredibly easy to remember what was done to us, and we can easily return to this state of distress. We must forgive those who sin against us and comfort them. The distress of unforgiveness can be enough to overwhelm someone. Paul urges us to remind the sinner how much we love him or her. We can't let Satan outwit us. Satan will say to hold the grudge and only give forgiveness sparingly. But this will only serve to consume us with ill feelings. In the end, it will hurt relationships, trust in God, and questioning God's perfect grace in the form of forgiving us of all our sins. We are not ignorant to Satan's scheming. As complex as he may be, he has simple, clear goals that remain the same, and that is to separate us from God no matter what. God is much more complicated, and though short term goals He has are still complex, in the long term, he wants us to spend all of eternity with Him.

Paul says we should wear our faith like an aroma that fills the air. We should smell of Christ, God's good deeds, and the Good News. Different people, however, will interpret this scent differently. Some will smell it and smell the stench of death because they know that they are not saved and that their lives are leading to death. They are lost to the wages of sin and to the ways of the devil. Think of how devout atheists attack those of open Christian faith in a battle of words. The devil hates the smell of Christ. It is death to him as God cast him from heaven to spend an eternity in the worst place creation touched. To others, faith holds a sweet smell of life. Fellow believers know that Christ smells of eternity. If we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, He opens our eyes to the path to Heaven. It doesn't matter how those around us interpret our faith fragrance; it only matters that we must send it out for all to smell, so that others may fell conviction and know what's coming if they don't change their ways or of the eternal life that awaits them after earthly death.