Sweet Aroma

The other day I stepped outside and was greeted with the worst of smells – a skunk!  Turning to go inside, I noticed a rose. Leaning down, I breathed in its fragrance. When I did, I realized the rose’s fragrance trumped the skunk’s odor as long as I kept my nose to the rose. I soon turned my thoughts to how there will always be skunks in our lives in the form of politics and relationships. We can focus on the skunk or we can lean into Christ, who the Bible calls the Rose of Sharon. We can breathe in His fragrance. We can even be Christ’s fragrance to others as 2 Corinthians 2:14 tell us, “thanks be to God, who manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him.” If the world is seeming stinky to you, lean into Christ. Carry His fragrance to others. Learn more at “How to Live by Divine Nature.”

LISTEN

When you’re grocery shopping, do you smell fruit, such as cantaloupe or peaches to determine if they’re ripe?  I remember the first time I saw someone hold a cantaloupe close to her nose. After she placed it in her basket, I decided to try the smell test. The first cantaloupe I held close to my nose had zero fragrance. I returned it and reached for another one, wondering if the smell test was bogus. But as I held the second one close to my nose, I was pleasantly surprised. It had a sweet aroma. That evening, when I took a bite, I wasn’t disappointed. It’s taste matched it’s smell. Second Corinthians 2:15 says that Christians are a fragrance of Christ to God and to others. In other words, as we move about and connect with people, they get a whiff of us. I wonder. Do they smell the sweet presence of Jesus or, do they get a whiff of our anxiousness, impatience, or sin? To find out how you can become a sweet aroma of Christ, please click HERE.