You Smell Good!
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?"
Have you ever walked into a home where someone was baking and you became really hungry in a hurry? I am getting hungry just thinking about it. The aroma of what was being cooked could not be ignored. Paul reminds us that we are the aroma of Christ and God leads us to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere we go. It's interesting that he does not say that your words are the aroma of God, but rather you are the aroma of God. I believe he words it this way because what people know about Christ goes beyond your words. It encompasses every part about you... your attitude, your reactions to difficulties, your actions, your love, your kindness, your everything! It is true that the Word of God contains within its pages the truth or knowledge of Christ, but it is also living and active and should be transforming our lives. We become a walking source of the knowledge of God! This is scary because our testimony of Jesus might not reflect the truth very often, but that doesn't change the fact that we are an aroma that cannot be ignored. We need to accept the fact that we have a high calling and rise up to it! We also need to understand that people will interpret your aroma differently. As Paul says, to some its "the smell of death" to others its "the smell of life". You can't live your life trying to please people all the time simply to avoid a negative perception about you. People will interpret your aroma as "the smell of death", and while you can't help that, you can still genuinely love them, after all, Jesus values and loves them greatly! Is it a tough task? Absolutely! This is why Paul says, "And who is equal to such a task?" Who will rise up and accept what is true? We are God's aroma whether we like it or not, so go out and let others smell how good God is today!
2 Cor. 2:14-16
Have you ever walked into a home where someone was baking and you became really hungry in a hurry? I am getting hungry just thinking about it. The aroma of what was being cooked could not be ignored. Paul reminds us that we are the aroma of Christ and God leads us to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere we go. It's interesting that he does not say that your words are the aroma of God, but rather you are the aroma of God. I believe he words it this way because what people know about Christ goes beyond your words. It encompasses every part about you... your attitude, your reactions to difficulties, your actions, your love, your kindness, your everything! It is true that the Word of God contains within its pages the truth or knowledge of Christ, but it is also living and active and should be transforming our lives. We become a walking source of the knowledge of God! This is scary because our testimony of Jesus might not reflect the truth very often, but that doesn't change the fact that we are an aroma that cannot be ignored. We need to accept the fact that we have a high calling and rise up to it! We also need to understand that people will interpret your aroma differently. As Paul says, to some its "the smell of death" to others its "the smell of life". You can't live your life trying to please people all the time simply to avoid a negative perception about you. People will interpret your aroma as "the smell of death", and while you can't help that, you can still genuinely love them, after all, Jesus values and loves them greatly! Is it a tough task? Absolutely! This is why Paul says, "And who is equal to such a task?" Who will rise up and accept what is true? We are God's aroma whether we like it or not, so go out and let others smell how good God is today!
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