The Life of Christ-like Fragrance

 

Thursday, February 11, 2021

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.  To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.  But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.  And who is adequate for such a task as this? 

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

For the apostle Paul the circumstances of life were that of a captive, someone whose circumstances depended on the choosing of his Master.  He did not concern himself too much where the road led, only that the leader was Jesus. 

If I had to draw a picture of the sweet fragrance of a Christ-likeness it would be Paul, sitting in a prison cell, with a wry smile of contentment as he’s writing to the churches.  

Those who cannot understand from where that smile originates are those who see the conditions as everything; Paul says they’re perishing, drying-up from the inside-out, life draining with a dreadful smell of death and doom.  But, to those who have found Christ, this picture is the essence of joy and eternal life.  To have found life’s deepest blessing in service to Christ, there is no greater satisfaction or fulfillment than to have met Jesus, committing to follow as a faithful servant.

I have known some servants like that.  There are several characteristics each of them bear in common.  I’d like to share some with you and ask you to keep in mind that the list is but a tip of the iceberg of what God uses.

Graciousness

I can think of no greater fragrance than the kind of gracious interest one human being sincerely displays towards another.  I’ve met a few famous people during my journey; none have surprised me more than those who listened to me like I had something worthwhile to say.  To be gracious, knowing you don’t know everything, and willing to hear another’s point of view, makes God’s job of using you much easier.

Humility

I suppose this quality is not a stand-alone trait.  Frankly, it is so related to graciousness you cannot have one without the other.  A humble person isn’t just a self-deprecating proclaimer of his low estate, someone you’d hear tossing aside a compliment with aw, shucks, I ain’t much.  Rather, the humble one just stands in genuine awe of the majesty of God he sees in every other human being he meets.

Hunger and Thirst

Now this is not the precedent of dinner on the grounds; rather it is the essence of what Jesus told us:

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Matthew 5:6 ^(KJV)

The idea of righteousness-seeking is the cause of human elevation, seeking to lift others in their lives by working to relieve oppression and injustice.  It is the process of being involved with God to love a neighbor as self.  It is what the prophet Micah wrote:

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:  to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

Again, not an exhaustive list, rather a good beginning of the kind of person that leaves a fragrant trail of Christ wherever they walk.

For You Today

There is no better practice for those who would live a life of Christ-like fragrance, spreading good news everywhere, than to spend time with the source of that fragrance.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com    Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©