I noticed something about fragrance twice while on a walk recently. On the first day I was walking past a woman at a bus stop. Immediately, I could sense that she was wearing a strong, pretty, flowery, perfume. I walked past her and the bus stop. What I did not expect is that her scent kept on trailing on for another meter, and then another one or two meters after that. She definitely had come to the bus stop from the way I was now headed. She had created such a strong trail of scent, like she had left invisible flowers in the air.
The second time I had gone on a walk, I was walking up a hilly part of the road and a man with his cap flicked back and his mind engaged in his phone conversation walked past me. After he had walked past he too left the remains of his scent. It was nothing like the woman’s scent that lingered on the first day.
We are the aroma of Christ. How much more are we leaving our scent in the places we travel? May it be anywhere we’ve stepped, in an airport, in a shopping centre, in a school, in a church, in a home or in a workplace. What do people know about Christ because we were around them? Don’t we leave a special presence because we belong to Jesus? Have you ever had people ask you out of the blue, “So do you go to church?” or “Why do you smile so much?” or simply, “Are you a Christian?” Those are great questions and wonderful opportunities to share our faith.
I was thinking about being the aroma of Christ. I thought we just ‘are’ the aroma of Christ, there’s nothing we can do more to have more of the aroma of Christ. We can’t say I want more of Christ’s ‘Christian Dior’ range please, I can’t smell the other stuff I just put on!! So be encouraged that you are the aroma of Christ. On the other hand, the more we spend time with Jesus the more we become like Him.
Here are two points I have about being the aroma of Christ:
1. Being the aroma of Christ means people get ‘knowledge’ about Jesus (2 Corinthians 2:14).Everywhere that Christians go they bring with them an awareness of who Christ is. People get to know a little more of who Christ is through the lives of Christians.
2. Because we are the aroma of Christ, the smell of that varies to individuals (2 Corinthians 2:15). When non- Christians meet us they are either encouraged about our faith in Jesus and really want the life we have or when non-Christians meet us they feel condemned and disgusted with their life.
Returning back to my walk, yes so I did walk past two people that had a good fragrance on them. However, I also walked further down the road, not past anyone, but an awful, horrible, disgusting, smelly garbage bin (trash bin). Let me tell you that I did not want to be near that smell for a second! In fact that is the smell that can be protested about. Could my point be that there are definite smells or fragrances, be it natural or spiritual?
I know that God’s heart is that everyone senses the aroma of Christ in those that are His and wants the eternal life that He can give through His son Jesus Christ. What Jesus has to offer is available for all who ask!
Read 2 Corinthians 2:14-16