Fragrance of Christ

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17; 3:5

One early spring afternoon, my sister, Gail, and I were walking in the park by our house.  She began sniffing the air and said, “Ah, just smell that wonderful aroma!”  We soon came upon a beautiful flowering lilac bush, where Gail was savoring the scent.  For me, however, the fragrance had become pervasive.  I wanted to walk faster to get away from the smell.

 

You see, my nose interprets lilac scent differently than my sister’s, especially at close range!  I guess you would say that, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the pleasantness (of a smell) is in the nose of the one smelling!  The fact is, lilacs are fragrant.  They are there on the bush for smelling.  If you like the fragrance of lilacs, you like its smell.  But, if you don’t, you have an opposite reaction.

 

 

In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul shows this to be true spiritually, as well.  “[God] manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  We are a fragrance of Christ…among those being saved and…those who are perishing (vs 14b-15).”  The fragrance of Christ is in us and is there for the smelling.  To those around us who are open and receptive to Christ, it is a pleasant aroma of life; to those who are indifferent or opposed to Christ, it is a pungent aroma, the scent of death. 

So, some will welcome us for our sweet aroma in Christ, while many more will treat us like we have BO!  We are not like lilacs that have no relationship with those around them and remain unaffected by their responses.  We, however, can be either uplifted or dejected and discouraged by people’s various reactions to our fragrance.  We may begin to feel ourselves insufficient to be Christ’s aroma-bearer.  Even Paul in verse 16 asks, “And who is adequate for these things?”   

Later, in chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians, he answers his own question for himself and us: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves but our adequacy is from God (vs 5).”  Amen, and praise You, Lord, that You give us what we need to represent you in this sin-sick world!  You desire that all respond to Christ’s aroma as a pleasant fragrance to their souls. Some will, some will not, but may I always be Your sweet aroma to all.

 

 

 

Community of Believers

Posted by Diane Ward

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people, the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. (Colossians 1:3-6)

As I imagine being at the market-place of ancient Colossae, I linger over the vibrant purple fabrics, smell the freshly baked bread and hear the fortune tellers calling out to me. It seems one could buy anything desired here. At the public square I hear a very different call from the man Epaphras, “a call to love and to live in unity of spirit as servants of the Christ.” I am told he learned of the Christ from Paul of Tarsus. This I know, my spirit is starved for something more than this marketplace has to offer! I draw near to hear about this Christ, this Jesus.

The theme of Colossians is the complete adequacy of Christ as contrasted with the emptiness of mere human philosophy. Paul's purpose is to refute the Colossian heresy. He exalts Christ as the very image of God, the Creator, the preexistent sustainer of all things, the head of the church, the first to be resurrected, the fullness of deity in bodily form, the reconciler between God and man, and thus completely adequate. The Colossian heresy was altogether inadequate, hollow and deceptive in philosophy, lacking any ability to restrain human sinful nature.

I can imagine the power of such a letter as Paul wrote to the Colossians, should it be sent to the community of believers where I worship. “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people, faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven.”

Would our hearts not stand at attention, saluting our commanding officer? Our love and unity would grow exponentially in the service of our Lord Jesus. I who write, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ thank God our Father for the faith, love and service of my community of believers.