Carrying The Fragrance Of Christ

"Today's Devotion" For November 25, 2005

Read: II Corinthians 2:14-3:3; Psalm 144

CARRYING THE FRAGRANCE OF CHRIST

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." (II Cor. 2:14)

When I walked into my parents' house yesterday afternoon I was met with two things - a cacophony of sounds from most of the eventual 30+ people that would attend Thanksgiving Dinner and the aroma of a traditional Thanksgiving feast of turkey, dressing, cranberries, rolls, corn, mixed vegetables, sweet potatoes, and a host of desserts (just to name a few). Most of the credit for the incredible smells goes to the oldest of my three sisters, Sherry, who normally would have had the gathering at her house but they're having dust problems from "tuck pointing." It was a marvelous day with four generations of family present along with guests of one of my niece’s and her fiancé (one of them a retired Green Bay Packer).

What sticks with me the most this morning as I write this devotion is the marvelous aroma of the food. I smelled the aroma of the food on my clothes as I drove home last night. I smelled that aroma as I undressed for bed. Even now as I write this in my chilly basement "office" I still smell the turkey, the gravy, and the stuffing. The aroma of the coffee still fills my nostrils. More than the sounds that permeated every nook and cranny of my parents' home, the aroma of our Thanksgiving Day dinner still lingers for me and with it the memories of family, friends, and gratitude to God for a unique, diverse, and wonderful family (even those who weren't able to get home this year - and with gratitude that our son, Matthew, was able to be home one last time before heading to Iraq again early next year). How about for you? Does the aroma of that meal still linger for you?

St. Paul reminds us today, on this day after Thanksgiving, that our lives are also an aroma that lingers and affects the lives of others. Our lives can either be fragrant with the sweet smell of God's love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Jesus, or they can be a stench in the nostrils of God and others as we live in ways contrary to God's Will and purpose for us. We are also reminded by St. Paul reminds that our lives in Christ are "a fragrance of life" for those who "are being saved," but the "smell of death" for those who are perishing and refuse God's love and forgiveness in Christ.

As God's people who live according to God's Will and purpose for our lives we are going to be "carrying the fragrance of Christ" wherever we go and in whatever we do. Living in Christ's love and forgiveness which He won for us on the cross, God uses us to spread "everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." Fed by His Word and Spirit we are filled up so that we might be prepared at all times "to give an account of the hope that is in us." Fed by His Word and Spirit we come before our heavenly Father in prayer, sharing with Him our inmost thoughts, desires, distresses, and needs, confident that He hears us and will answer according to His Will and purpose. Fed by His Word and Spirit we rejoice each and every day that we are His and, in Christ, have eternal life. Through all this spiritual food God fills us not only for the task of sharing Jesus with others and living for Him in whatever we do and say, but He also fills us with the "fragrance of the knowledge of Him" that touches the lives of others so they, too, might be fed and filled by Christ. You and I do carry quite an "aroma" in Jesus. It's one that needs to linger always.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for all Your blessings to me, but most especially for filling me with Your love in Christ so that I might "carry the fragrance of Christ" wherever I go and in whatever I do. Help me to always be a "sweet smell" in Your nostrils as I live in the forgiveness and love You give me in Jesus. Help me to always be a "sweet smell" for those who hear Your Word and believe Your promises that I might be a living example of life in Christ. Father, I pray that I may never fail to share the "sweet fragrance" of Christ with others, even among those who think I "stink" because I believe in Him as my Lord and Savior from Sin. Father, I also pray that You would bring out that same "sweet fragrance" of Christ in all my brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ around the world that all of us might be fearless and tireless witnesses to Your love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Jesus for all people, everywhere. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright ©2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.