Earlier today I was headed to get my Chick-fil-A for lunch, but something really cool happened. As I turned the corner, an amazing fragrance blasted my nostrils! Yep, Great American Cookies worked its powers on me. Before I even made it to Chick-fil-A to get my lunch, I picked up a chocolate chip double-doozie. I could not resist! Has that ever happened to you? It happens to me at Cinemark, as well. I go to see a movie, but when I walk through the doors the fragrance of buttered popcorn captivates me. Even when I am not hungry at all, I find myself ordering a large buttered popcorn. Isn't it amazing how easily we can be captivated by those kinds of things, those kinds of fragrances?
What about our walk with the Lord? Is our walk with the Lord as captivating as some of these things in life that have no eternal value? I love Paul's words to the church in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15. Paul says, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." Wow!!! Think about those words for just a moment. As Christ followers, through humble repentance of sin and true faith in the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ, we are "the pleasing aroma of Christ" to the world in which we live! I had to stop and really think about these words. I had to ask myself a very serious question: "Am I the pleasing aroma of Christ to everyone I come in contact with on a day-to-day basis?" In other words, does my attitude and do my words and my actions captivate others in a way that leads them to God? In my home? In my workplace? In my church? In my community? When others are passing me by in the highways and byways of life, does my life give off the pleasing aroma of Christ to those being saved and to those who are perishing? Paul goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 2:17, "Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God." We are jars of clay! Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." He says in 2 Corinthians 4:15, "All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God."
What does it take to be this pleasing aroma of Christ to the world? It takes prayer. It takes repentance of sin. It takes humility. It takes love. Only when we know and rely on the love of God can we be a vessel - a jar of clay - which is poured out to others and for others. We can be that pleasing aroma of Christ to the world, but we must deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Jesus. We must turn from sin and self and trust in God's gift to us, namely Jesus! I don't know about you, but I want to be that pleasing aroma of Christ to my home, to my workplace, to my church, and to my community. I want God to be praised with shouts of thanksgiving! Lord, let it begin with me! I pray that You, Lord, will help me be that pleasing aroma of Christ in this world. I pray that You, Lord, will receive praises of thanksgiving as I continue to commune with You and share the knowledge of Your love with others. Amen!
