"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:15
Have you ever had a moment where you have a flashback from your childhood? It could be spurred on by driving by your old school, or hearing a song on the radio, or seeing your favorite childhood candy on the shelves at the grocery store. For some reason, many of my childhood memories are spurred on by smells.
I know that sounds weird, but there are times whenever I get in my car and the smell of the leather seats take me back to the days that a neighbor would pick me up for school. She drove a bright red car with gray leather seats and she would very frequently swing through our neighborhood doughnut shop and pick up a couple of bags of doughnut holes for me and her son. Boy, were Mr. Bob Boutwell's doughnuts the best ever!
Whenever I smell kerosene, it reminds me of one of my earliest school-age friends who heated their home with kerosene and the many nights that she and I would spend together doing all of the things that little girls do.
Whenever I hug some older ladies at church, their combination of lotion, perfume, and make-up reminds me of my grandmother very much.
Whenever I drive past a hog farm, the smell might offend you, but it causes me to reminisce about all of the wonderful memories made on my aunt and uncle's farm each summer when we would make the long trek to Illinois to see our extended family each year.
Those are all very fond memories that I hold near my heart. I don't think the fact that they are all brought on by smells is anything odd. When God created us, he gifted us with five wonderful senses that allow us to experience this magnificent world that He formed. The sense of smell allows us to make observations and create memories that we would miss out on if we had not have been blessed with that aspect of our creation.
If you are a Christian, then you have benefited from another smell that should also strike up fond memories. In our key verse today Paul tells us that those who are believers are like the aroma of Christ to the lost world. If you are saved, then someone in your past was the aroma of Christ to you.
Do we know what Jesus of Nazareth really smelled like? Of course not! The expression that Paul uses in that verse does not denote a literal smell, but rather an idea that Christians are a representative for Christ in every aspect of their life. The life of a Christian is a living and breathing testimony to Christ. Essentially, whenever a Christian is living their life for the Lord, they are spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ to everyone they come in contact with.
I was blessed to be born in a home where I was surrounded by the fragrance of Christ. You might not have had that benefit in your home, but somewhere along the way, God placed someone in your path that smelled like Christ to you. They might not have even had to mention His name at first, but you could tell that something was different about them and you wanted whatever it was that they had.
Well, because we have had the benefit and blessing of "smelling" the aroma of Christ through someone else, we are now called to do the same. There is a child, a friend, a co-worker, a store clerk, a neighbor, and a whole entire world out there that is in desperate need of coming in contact with the fragrance of Christ through the witness that we live before them.
Are you living out Christ in your life today in a way that would cause someone to say, "There's something different about them."?
For the world around us that is perishing, are you doing your best to live out the love of Christ before them?
If a smell can prompt such fond and strong memories in my mind about childhood occurrences, don't you want to be a part of someone's spiritual memories?
Don't you want someone to be able to see the face of Jesus one day because of the way you were a living testimony to Jesus in front of them?
Take a moment to thank God for that person(s) in your life who was the fragrance of Christ to you. Then, make a commitment to not let another day pass before you can be that blessing for someone else.
Have you ever had a moment where you have a flashback from your childhood? It could be spurred on by driving by your old school, or hearing a song on the radio, or seeing your favorite childhood candy on the shelves at the grocery store. For some reason, many of my childhood memories are spurred on by smells.
I know that sounds weird, but there are times whenever I get in my car and the smell of the leather seats take me back to the days that a neighbor would pick me up for school. She drove a bright red car with gray leather seats and she would very frequently swing through our neighborhood doughnut shop and pick up a couple of bags of doughnut holes for me and her son. Boy, were Mr. Bob Boutwell's doughnuts the best ever!
Whenever I smell kerosene, it reminds me of one of my earliest school-age friends who heated their home with kerosene and the many nights that she and I would spend together doing all of the things that little girls do.
Whenever I hug some older ladies at church, their combination of lotion, perfume, and make-up reminds me of my grandmother very much.
Whenever I drive past a hog farm, the smell might offend you, but it causes me to reminisce about all of the wonderful memories made on my aunt and uncle's farm each summer when we would make the long trek to Illinois to see our extended family each year.
Those are all very fond memories that I hold near my heart. I don't think the fact that they are all brought on by smells is anything odd. When God created us, he gifted us with five wonderful senses that allow us to experience this magnificent world that He formed. The sense of smell allows us to make observations and create memories that we would miss out on if we had not have been blessed with that aspect of our creation.
If you are a Christian, then you have benefited from another smell that should also strike up fond memories. In our key verse today Paul tells us that those who are believers are like the aroma of Christ to the lost world. If you are saved, then someone in your past was the aroma of Christ to you.
Do we know what Jesus of Nazareth really smelled like? Of course not! The expression that Paul uses in that verse does not denote a literal smell, but rather an idea that Christians are a representative for Christ in every aspect of their life. The life of a Christian is a living and breathing testimony to Christ. Essentially, whenever a Christian is living their life for the Lord, they are spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ to everyone they come in contact with.
I was blessed to be born in a home where I was surrounded by the fragrance of Christ. You might not have had that benefit in your home, but somewhere along the way, God placed someone in your path that smelled like Christ to you. They might not have even had to mention His name at first, but you could tell that something was different about them and you wanted whatever it was that they had.
Well, because we have had the benefit and blessing of "smelling" the aroma of Christ through someone else, we are now called to do the same. There is a child, a friend, a co-worker, a store clerk, a neighbor, and a whole entire world out there that is in desperate need of coming in contact with the fragrance of Christ through the witness that we live before them.
Are you living out Christ in your life today in a way that would cause someone to say, "There's something different about them."?
For the world around us that is perishing, are you doing your best to live out the love of Christ before them?
If a smell can prompt such fond and strong memories in my mind about childhood occurrences, don't you want to be a part of someone's spiritual memories?
Don't you want someone to be able to see the face of Jesus one day because of the way you were a living testimony to Jesus in front of them?
Take a moment to thank God for that person(s) in your life who was the fragrance of Christ to you. Then, make a commitment to not let another day pass before you can be that blessing for someone else.
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