Paul writes a remarkable description of what a surrendered life looks like to the world around it: "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." The image is olfactory — a scent, a fragrance. You carry an aroma. Not literally, of course. But there is something that a genuinely surrendered life releases into every room it enters. It is the fragrance of Christ — peace that is unusual, generosity that is surprising, joy that does not require perfect circumstances, love that extends to people who have not earned it. People who do not yet know Jesus often cannot name what they are sensing in a genuinely devoted believer. They just know that something is different. Something in this person's presence is appealing, compelling, or at the very least, unlike what they encounter elsewhere. That fragrance is the result of surrender. The person who has held nothing back from God — who has genuinely poured out their life as an offering — carries the scent of Christ. It is not manufactured through spiritual effort or personality. It is the natural result of intimacy with Jesus. When you spend time with Him, something of Him rubs off. Like a candle that has been lit in a room, the evidence is not the candle itself but the fragrance that fills the space. This month, as you think about what it means to pour your life out for God, consider the fragrance question: What do people sense when they leave your presence? What does your life smell like? The more fully surrendered your life, the more clearly Christ's presence will be carried in you — and through you — into every space you occupy.