There is a stretch of Interstate-40 West just outside of a
college town not far from where I live that my mom and I pass through headed to
another small town. (We live in Arkansas
therefore besides living from Glory to Glory we live from small town to small
town. ha, ha, ha) Anyway, every time we
get to that location on I-40 it isn't long before we both are saying,
"What's that smell?" Seriously, it is a bad smell!
Smell is one of the five senses that God gave us to relate
to the world around us through our physical bodies - the others being sight,
sound, taste, and touch. If you ever
take time to really think about the role of each it is very interesting. But, for now we are talking about smell. Smells can alert us to danger such as the
smell of smoke in a house, a sewer leak, a burnt breakfast, gas leak, etc. Smells
can also alert us to things like approaching rain, a pie coming out of the
oven, etc. Smell also has the power to
attract us to a person, foods, a flower garden, etc., etc.
In 2 Corinthians 2:15-17 the apostle Paul
writes of 'smell' if you will, when he is talking to the believers from the
church of Corinth regarding those responsible to God to share the gospel of
Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:15-17
(ESV)
15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
I love this
passage because Paul is basically saying, "Hey, we aren't giving you a
cheap perfume!” It has cost a man his
life. It is costing us our lives and it
will cost you your life. But what a
sweet aroma it is among those that are saved and being saved instead of a cheap
substitute which leads to death, which is peddled by some.
You may wonder why in the world Vickie is writing on this
topic today. Well, quite simply the
verse caught my eye this morning on my coffee cup. And I started to think about the times I am
not yielded to the LORD in how I handle a given situation and my flesh rises up
instead. I'm sure anyone around at the
time is saying, "What's that smell?" It smells so bad! And don't sit
there reading this like you don't know what I'm talking about. We have a daily choice of how we handle life
situations. We either surrender to the
Holy Spirit of God in us and or we yield to our flesh. There are only two choices. Surrender to the Holy Spirit is to die to
self which elicits a sweet aroma of Christ. Surrender to the flesh is selfish and elicits the smell of self.
I don't know about you but I desire to live a life of Christ
at work in me and through me that others are drawn to that aroma of Christ in
my life. That comes from being saved by His Grace alone
and by reading and living out by His power the truths of His Word in our daily
walks with our spouse, family, and friends and the Nations!
Love you all - have a
great week....
His,
Vickie