Fragrance of Life

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

New Mexico is on the verge of becoming the first state to have an official aroma. If the bill passes the legislature then “green chiles roasting in the fall” will become the state’s official aroma. The aroma would naturally fit into the Department of Tourism’s declaration that New Mexico is the “Chile Capital of the World.”  What do you think your state’s official aroma would be?

There are very few things all of us would agree on but I am almost sure we all respond to certain smells, good or bad, that either bring back memories or evoke strong emotions. Coffee brewing in the morning, chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, or a baby’s stinky diaper. Growing up I loved the smell of mentholatum! I am sure the aroma probably wasn’t that great but knowing the love that was linked to the smell is what is special.  As a little boy, my Mother would rub it on my chest when I was sick. For me, it was a fragrance that brought healing.

New Mexico may be the first state to have an official aroma but they are not the first group to be recognized for having a unique aroma, that title goes to Christians in 2 Corinthians when they are called “the fragrance of Christ.” What a beautiful yet challenging description for us as followers of Christ. “To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. Who is adequate for these things?” (2 Cor 2:16 CSB)

Can you picture the scene as Noah and his family walked off the Ark after the total devastation of the world? Nothing remained of life as Noah knew before the flood, yet in faith, he built an altar to the LORD. As the smoke from the fire slowly rose to heaven, “the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma” and it became an “aroma of life leading to life.” As the aroma filled heaven that day, God would promise that “as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.” (Gen 8:22 CSB)

Can you picture the scene as Mary breaks the jar of pure nard to pour over Jesus’ feet and then “wiped his feet with her hair? (John 12:1-8) The poignant smell of the perfume penetrated every corner of the house for days and maybe still lingered that evening when Jesus was crucified as the ultimate “fragrance of life.”  As the fragrance of the perfume touched their senses it served as a bitter-sweet reminder to Lazarus, Martha, and Mary of how much Jesus loved them.

Can you picture the scene today if each of us as Jesus’ followers would be poured out as the fragrance of Christ on the world? We live in a world where the aroma of death is so overwhelming, yet we can become that “aroma of life leading to life.” We could greatly impact the world if we would be the poured-out fragrance, becoming “imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” (Eph 5:1-2)

We become that fragrance of life simply by doing what Jesus would do. Jim Denison writes, “Early believers with no political leverage by which to end slavery and child abandonment purchased and then freed slaves and rescued and then adopted abandoned babies. Over time, their moral example became transformational for their societies. By utilizing their public influence with Christlike character, Christ followers such as William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr. became agents of moral reformation.” The sweet aroma of life impacted the world they lived in.

Over the last several weeks there has been an outpouring of God’s Spirit among college students seeking to be “an aroma of life leading to life.” This outpouring of God has now spread to other campuses and locations bringing refreshment and renewal to many.

Lord, may we become that “fragrance of life” today for someone who is hurting, without hope, without life. We desire to fill our world with the life-saving aroma of Christ wherever we go.

Sweet aroma fill this place
Let us feel your warm embrace
Touch us with your healing grace
Let us see your holy face

Hold us so close by your side
Let us see your loving eyes
Take our wrongs and make them right
Breathe on us the breath of life

The fragrance of Christ
It breaks apart the strongholds of pride
and the hardest of hearts
It makes all the wounded whole and then starts
to open the senses to your goodness
It’s the fragrance of Christ

At the start of every day
Fill my heart with perfect praise
with this offering I raise
A holy tribute to your name

Take my feet and lead me to
All the world or just a few
With everything I say and do
May the glory go to you

Fresh anointing cover me
With a balm of purity
Make me a bouquet of honesty

I will hold your name up high
By the way I live my life
Let me be the fragrance of Christ – (Charles Billingsley, The Fragrance of Christ from the Change Album)

https://www.invubu.com/music/show/song/Charles-Billingsley/The-Fragrance-of-Christ.html

God is great!