A sweet aroma

I was reading a verse today,

“for we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” ~2 Corinthians 2:15

Which then drew me on to read:

“to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.”

~2 Corinthians 2:16

An aroma. A smell.

I added in that second verse there because it gets me to thinking. An aroma. A smell. Today I was in an office. I noticed a lot of smell, fragrance, more so than i have ever noticed before and I mentioned it to the gal I was talking to, who couldn’t smell it as her nose has adapted to the smells in the office. But she made a comment about how her supervisor wears a fair bit of perfume and you can follow her by the smell. The gal commented, that she liked the way her supervisor smelled, so it really didn’t bother her. I Then I got to thinking about this book I am reading, which is kind of messed up, but anyway, there are these zombies in it. In the book they are called the undead or the vermin. Basically though, they are zombies and so they are dead and they’re bodies are decomposing and in the book it talks about the stench accompanying this dead flesh.

Two completely opposing thoughts

So here we have two completely opposing thoughts about a strong smell being appealing and desirable, and then a strong smell that is awful and gagging, and makes you want to run in a different direction. So I have these two exposures today and now I look at these verses talking about being a fragrance and it really gives opportunity to think about how we can be perceived by God as either pleasing or dead.

A field of flowers

This brings to mind a visualization of a field of flowers. Some of those flowers are dead, brown, withered and smelly. Other flowers are at a peak bloom. They emanate a beautiful fragrance and glow with color and health. Those who love the Lord and have given their lives to Him are the vibrant flowers. They are aglow in his power. The power they carry spreads a beautiful fragrance wherever they go. Those however, who do not know Him, are still dead inside. They have not accepting his restorative powers and so internally they are still dead. Their spirit withers inside of them. As humans, we only see the outer shell, not the dying flower within. But God sees everything. He can see which of His children are glowing and blooming and He can see which ones are not.

Let us be inspired…

The good news is, that those who carry that stench of death, can be filled with Gods restorative power and light, if only they will allow the blood of Christ to renew them and restore them. Though once dead, they can become alive and be pleasing fragrance once more, filled with vibrant color. Let us all be inspired to see more beautiful flowers in the field where we live. Let your aroma be one that allows the wind to carry your beautiful fragrance out where others may be inspired to seek Gods restorative powers.