“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.”
(2 Corinthians 2:14-15, NLT)
“Being an aroma is about essence, not about actions.
In 1 Corinthians 4:4, Paul says, “It is the Lord who judges me” (NIV). Paul understood that we must gauge our success by human standards. God doesn’t measure success as we do. He wants to see a heart that has been conformed to the image of Christ. We are not to abide in Christ so that we get results in our work. We are to abide in Christ so that we are transformed into His image; we begin to look, sound and yes, even smell like Him.
Prayer: Father, make me a sweet-smelling aroma to You today as I obey You, as I rest in You and as I pray. May I not focus on my Christian works, but may I focus on You only. May we focus on our relationship with You rather than depending on ministry for fulfillment. Amen.
(from Voices of the Faithful compiled by Kim P. Davis, page 292)
Today I am joining … Open Sunday Thoughts and Spiritual Sundays and Scripture & a Snapshot and Sunday Scripture Blessings .
And as we gather for worship today, may the perfume of our individual spirits blend in a way that creates beauty and a harmonious scent of the greatness of God’s creativity, reflected by our diversity.
Oh Joanne! This is exactly what I want! I want God to be SUCH a part of my life that every bit of me reflects Him. Of course, that takes time and effort and understanding priorities that aren’t of this world, which is why it’s so hard and why we need such constant reminders. I’m glad you reminded me today.
Oh that Christians we would be as concerned about smelling good to God as we are about smelling good to man!
Julie, so very true! We can be quite picky about our fragrances.
Your post spoke to me and gave me some thoughts to pursue about this scripture!
Yes, please! This is lovely.