A Sweet Aroma to God

Have you ever been to a conference or meeting, maybe you can just reference your congregation and thought..."I wish I had her hair"...I wish I had her speaking ability"..."I wish my husband was as godly as hers appears to be" or "I wish I smelled as good as her" and so on? I have to wonder if God views our "wishes" as dissatisfaction for the uniqueness in which He made us.

Man has created plenty of products to help us improve our looks. There are so many self-help books and conferences to make us better speakers, writers, wives, mothers, Christians. I have invested well in these with good results! So I am not condemning these things but I suppose the whole issue comes down to our heart in this matter. And what about the perfume industry? They have created more scents than we can wear in a life time. So, I want to linger here a bit and examine our hearts with this issue of fragrance. My scripture reading took me to 2 Corinthians 2 (NLT) today:

(14) But thank God! He has made us his captives

and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession.

Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere,

like a sweet perfume.

(15) Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.

But this fragrance is perceived differently

by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.

(16) To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.

But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.

And who is adequate for such a task as this?

Do you hear the message here? With all the wishes we have in our life-look at them closely and ask yourself what motivates this wish-self improvement-Christ reflection-jealousy-insecurity-ungratefulness? What reflection do you see in your heart and in your relationship with Christ? In stead of wishing for better hair-thank God for having hair that is workable and changeable. Some women today are suffering through the drama of life with no hair. Instead of being envious of another's speaking ability, praise God for the opportunity you have to speak, even if it is just to your family and continually pray His words will come through you. Make it your goal to be used by God in your speech. Instead of wishing your husband was more like someone else-look closer and see what God has truly blessed you with. Be a compliment to him to bring our his better side and praise God you have him. Many women have lost their husbands and suffer through pain, loneliness, regrets, and "should-have-been" type moments. And instead of being so in tuned to the latest fragrance on the store shelf, examine your spiritual fragrance!!

What fragrance are you wearing today? Is it a sweet aroma to God? Does it draw others towards God or make them turn away from Him? Of all the things I have mention, probably this is the most important. Is your life a Christ-like fragrance being lifted up as a sweet aroma to God? And who is adequate for such a task as this? Can we ever be adequate enough for God? I have learned yes and isn't just amazing? We are adequate for Christ only when we seek His confidence in our effort to be a sweet spiritual aroma.

Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability)

of ourselves to form personal judgments

or to claim or count anything as coming from us,

but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God.
[It is He] Who has qualified us [making us to be fit and worthy and sufficient]

as ministers and dispensers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ],

not [ministers] of the letter (of legally written code)

but of the Spirit; for the code [of the Law] kills,

but the [Holy] Spirit makes alive.

~2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (Amplified Bible)

If we are living in God's confidence, the thankfulness and praises for what He has provided you will be there. I challenge all of us this weekend to examine our hearts, our minds, and our spiritual cleanness as we seek God's confidence and live to be spiritually scented in the fragrance God is wanting from us!

Have a blessed weekend!

In His Graces~Pamela