Inflated Perspicacity

Word-for-word quotes to some who have chosen a different church direction:
-"I hope you don't live to regret this"
-"Have you considered the heritage you are taking away from your children"
-"I am crushed & don't understand"
-"I do NOT understand at all"
-"There's no way this can be the right thing to do"
-"You should not have been subject to your husband in leaving this church"
-"History shows you can't leave this church & make it work"
-"We are praying for you that you will come back"
Where do people get off in thinking they can be the Holy Spirit for other's lives?
Why do we think we know where God is leading another person?
Who do we think we are?
How in the samhill can a person presume they know what is right for another person?
Why do people allow themselves to be tools for the use of the devil?
Why do people think that their particular church is the only place where all the correct answers are?
Something isn't right when "Christians" are telling other Christians what is wrong with their following the promptings of the Holy Spirit!
How can people have the audacity to know what God's will is for someone else?
How can we be so condescending, judgmental, presumptuous, arrogant, superior, self-righteous...

Why can't we genuinely love each other enough to say, "I maybe don't understand, but I trust you enough to know that you are seeking God's will. We give our blessing to you and we will be praying for you as you follow the LORD's direction".

Revelation

In my reading this week, I came across the neatest verses...you know how that is, I've probably read this a million times before, but it never sank in.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?"

Aren't those just some of the sweetest word choices: triumphal procession, fragrance, aroma.

After some research, I found out Paul used those words for an exact purpose. Victorious Roman generals were given the privelege of parading through Rome with burning incense, followed by the conquered army who were either going to death or a life of slavery. The church in Corinth would have understood the imagery of these words.

Christ is the Victory and it is through me (and you) that the fragrance of the gospel is being spread. Is the aroma of my fragrance pointing others towards life or death? What is my life telling those around me? Wow!