The Fragrance of Christ

Read: Ephesians 5:1-12

For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:                                                                                                               

2 Corinthians 2:15 

We live out in the country in Virginia, and our neighbor recently built a chicken coop right on the border between their property and ours. If you have ever been around chickens, then you know it does not take long for them to give a very unmistakable smell, and not a good one. Having grown up around chickens, I have found that the only good smell a chicken produces is when it is being cooked on a grill. Few things are worse than sitting out on the deck on a warm summer evening enjoying a nice breeze – and the very non-aromatic smell of chickens.

 We do have one thing in our favor during the spring and early summer: the small section of growth on our side of the property where giant patches of honeysuckle grow. As much as I don’t wish for anyone to have to smell chickens, I pity the person who has never smelled honeysuckle. It gives off a wonderful fragrance. It smells sweet enough to make me want to graze upon it like a horse. (I don’t, by the way). What we have noticed is that the smell of the honeysuckle actually overpowers the smell of the chickens, and makes a nice breeze enjoyable.

Believe it or not, your life is actually giving off a fragrance, as well. You are either giving off a horrible smell as you live for the devil and the pleasures of this world, or you are leaving behind a beautiful fragrance as you spend time with God. Since we live in a world filled with immorality and wickedness on all sides, we cannot help but smell the rottenness that is being produced. However, we can do something to combat that. We can bear the lovely fragrance of a life completely sold out to God. As we imitate Christ in daily living and allow Him to be seen through us, then we can begin to push back against smell of the world.

We should do our best to encourage others to bear the fragrance of Christ, as well. If there were only one honeysuckle plant on our property line, then the smell of the chickens would be unbearable. But with thousands of them, they easily overpower the stench. With an army of Christians bearing the fragrance of Christ, we can overpower the offensive smell of evil.

Quote of the day: “He does not love what is good who does not hate what is evil.”