That question is the obvious icebreaker when you’re traveling. I love meeting people from a variety of places, and that question frequently opens the door to further conversation. A recent trip took us from northern snow to southern warmth, and we met some fellow Minnesotans in the hotel lobby. We chatted for quite a while, and she caught up to me in the elevator later. “You mentioned Bible study,” she said, eyes eager. “Tell me about it.”

There’s a kinship I feel with other Minnesotans away from home. The snow! The mosquitos! Shared experience is a bonding vehicle. I’ll confess — sometimes when I spot someone with the same ghastly winter-white legs as mine, I already feel connected in a humorous way.

And then sometimes, a stranger catches my eye, and for some inexplicable reason I just know that they, too, love Jesus. Paul called it “the aroma of the knowledge of Christ” in his letter to the church in Corinth. Perhaps it’s a special sense of peace or kindness they carry. I believe it’s the Holy Spirit, who causes hope to overflow in us. (Romans 15:13)

I once noticed a woman like this at my parents’ retirement community. I watched as she greeted people with a touch and a smile, stooping down to converse with those in wheelchairs. I just had a feeling that she was a fellow believer. Was it her kindness? Many non-believers are kind, and sadly, some believers can be very unkind, so that wasn’t a certain marker.

“Do you know that woman?” I asked my mother. She stiffened. “I certainly do, and I complained to the management about her.” I couldn’t imagine what this sweet woman could have done to cause such an action, until my mother said, “She’s always proselytizing.”

Ah.

Ouch.

My mother’s definition of “proselytizing” was a large one. It made it difficult to live a life of faith without being assigned that label for one reason or another. I’d been given it for teaching my own children the Bible. Perhaps this woman was aggressively confronting people in the hallways, but I suspected not. In any case, she breezed by our table shortly afterwards. “Good morning, Marilyn,” she smiled. “It’s nice to see you.” Mom responded politely, and she moved on.

I never formally met this mystery woman, and yet I knew we were connected from the moment I saw her. It must have been that aroma Paul talked about. Do I give off the same mysterious, pleasing perfume? One that emanates life and love? I sure hope so.

Just like we can identify northerners in Spring by their winter-white legs, sometimes we identify believers by the inscrutable aroma of Heaven. And we know that someday we will meet again when our travels come to an end. So maybe a better question isn’t “Where are you from?”, but instead, “Where are you going?”

I suspect I’ll meet the mystery woman someday. We’ll recognize each other, just as we all will in Heaven. Our connection there will no longer be a mystery, because I’ll be Marilyn’s daughter, and she’ll be the proselytizer.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15