What Fragrance Are You? - Part 2

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

~ 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

Since my last post I've been thinking about this verse quite a bit. What does it mean exactly to be the smell of death to those who are perishing?

In the past I was very exuberant about my relationship with the Lord. To be honest, I was a bit pushy and annoying. Not at all Christ-like. At that time though I probably would have told you that if my beliefs annoyed you, it was because you did not have a relationship with God. I've learned the hard way though that being obnoxious is not what God has called us to, nor does it draw others to Him. Only His Love will do that and we can't show that Love to others when we are being annoying. We are only promoting ourselves and our own self-righteousness.

Looking back to the years before I came to know the Lord, I realize He was pursuing me the entire time. I think I experienced that smell of death during those years. I could talk the talk with many "religious" people and actually enjoyed doing so. But when I found myself in the company of true Christ-followers things changed. Those whose focus was on Jesus and letting His Glory and Love shine through them, rather than trying to prove their own righteousness put me on edge. It was nothing they did themselves, as they always treated me with nothing but love and respect, but I always felt like I was on the hot seat. Like they could see right through me to who I really was, to the person I did not even want to see.

I know now that they did not really have this "power", but the Holy Spirit who lived within them does have that power. It was His voice calling to me that made me so uncomfortable. His voice was the smell of death to me because I was not yet ready or willing to hear Him.

So, is that what this verse is speaking of? The fragrance that we give off is the Holy Spirit living within us who speaks to those we come in contact with?

I think those who are perishing are not necessarily those who don't know the Lord, but those who don't know Him and are not seeking Him. I believe the Spirit living within us is Life to those who have the same Spirit in them and Life to those who are truly seeking the Lord, though they may not yet know Him. He is only death to those who are still convinced that they are not in need of His Grace and Love.

What Fragrance Are You?

I'm reading through 2 Corinthians right now and came across this verse the other day. Made me start to think - what kind of fragrance am I to others?

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
~ 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

I had never really thought of it in this way before. Something to meditate on - am I truly a fragrance of life to those who know God and the smell of death to those who don't know Him? If I can't say "Yes" I may need to re-examine how I am living my life. Am I truly letting the fragrance of Jesus, my Savior, flow through me to the world?

Nick Vujicic - Life Without Limbs

Sunday morning I had the privilege to hear Nick Vujicic speak at a local church. Amazing and inspiring! Intense and convicting!

Nick is a man who was born 26 years ago with no arms or legs and no explanation from the doctors as to why he was born that way. His parents were just told that he would not be able to do anything for himself and would be a burden to them and others for the rest of his life.
At a young age Nick prayed for the Lord to provide him with a miracle, to give him arms and legs. He promised God that if He gave him this miracle, he would travel the world telling others of how great our Creator is and of the miracle that the Lord did in his life. But as Nick said on Sunday, God chose not to give him his miracle, instead He chose to make Nick a miracle for thousands of others.

Nick now travels the world sharing the Love and Hope that are in Jesus Christ with others, but still without arms or legs. He tells others of how even when God does not change your circumstances, He is still with you and still loves you. He has other plans for you that are greater than anything you can imagine because many times those same circumstances you are trying to avoid, are the very best way for Him to show His Glory, Mercy, Grace, Love and Hope through you.

Nick shared on Sunday about the Peace he has in God, even when things are not going well. He shared about the love of Christ and how it can heal anyone if we just accept it. He talked of how even if we have it all together on the outside, it is all for nothing if we don’t have the Peace that comes with knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is the inside that matters, not the outside.

When you see God using someone like Nick, who has no arms and legs, in such a might way, our excuses start to sound pretty lame. God can and will use us if we just choose to submit to Him and allow Him to lead our lives. Nick also made another good point. He said we often compare our circumstances to that of others so we can feel better. You know, things are bad for us but at least we have it better than so-and-so. But as Nick pointed out, that is just temporary peace – just us trying to mask the pain and hurt. The only true way to heal ourselves of whatever we are going through or will be going through is to have a relationship with God and allow Him to heal us from the inside out.

I highly encourage you to check out Nick’s ministry – Life Without Limbs. He has quite a few videos on the site which are very inspiring and are worth taking some time to view.