The Aroma of Christ

But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To some we are the aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. 2 Cor 2:14-16

This analogy is to the triumphant return of victorious generals who took with them captives and treasures. Sweet smelling incenses were offered, therefore a sweet aroma went with them. We are God's captives and we are on our way to the city of God.

We are on display. Today, I again wrapped Christmas presents as a fund raiser for Ronald McDonald House. A woman I worked alongside said to me, " I know you." We then went through a process as to how she knew me, it was church.

The people who brought their presents to be wrapped each had needs in their lives. Many needed grace as they brought the biggest presents and offered the least in donations. Yet others came and were so grateful for the voluntary service we provided that they paid very well indeed.

As you can imagine I needed God's grace for the unlovely but hardly needed it for the lovely. God needs to be on display in our lives. His fragrance needs to be noticed or we waste our time. For those who needed the most grace I had to go to the Lord, it did me good, it humbled me.

Everybody smelt something today. I wonder what it showed them?