Charles was an older man who spent the whole day working with us on a project. It was touching how often things reminded him of his wife. Flowers he brought to their first date, the time she was in the hospital for a week, and her kindness, joy, and patience. After 55 years of marriage, this was a man still in love.

But no matter how much he told us about her, it could never be a substitute for meeting her. At the end of the day, she came to pick him up. His eyes lit up as he could finally introduce his new friends to the love of his life. And you know what? She was even more lovely than he described.

This is how we should be with Jesus.

No matter how well we can speak about Him to others, it is never a substitute for encountering Him. If we want to share the beauty and goodness of Jesus, we have to go beyond just talking about Him. We have to be Him for the world.  

This is a point John Paul makes when explaining how we are the Body of Christ.

First, we love Jesus so personally and deeply that He becomes like a fragrance that surrounds us. And the more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him so that when people encounter us, they actually encounter the living God through us!