The Fragrance of Christ

There is a certain kind of fragrance some older women wear - it is quite flowery.  To them it has the smell of perhaps a rose garden or a summer boquet, to me it has a completely different smell - it reminds me of a funeral.  To them, it is the fragrance of life, to me it is the fragrance of death.

To me, the smell of liver and onions simmering in a pan is salivating.  To many people I know, that same smell conjures up a gag reflex similar to when driving past a cattle yard or entering a porta-potty on a sweltering hot day.

As the saying goes, "a rose is a rose is a rose."  However, its fragrance does not have the same impact on everyone.  It is no difference with the fragrance of Christ or the lifestyle of his disciples.  To many people, the Christian message and the life changes it brings is the fragrance of life, to others it is the stench of death.

Consider how noxious any semblance of the cross is to an atheist, how they fight so vigorously to strip any mention or semblance of Christ from our schools or national landscape.  Prayer in a public restaraunt, while heart-warming to most, causes heartburn in them.

This truth is not an anomoly, it is clearly named in the Scriptures: "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life" (2 Cor 2:15-16).

To some, your faithful walk in Christ will be very attractive to some, to others it will be offensive.  Your faithfulness will  at once be a breath of fresh air and a stench to be avoided.  In either event, our responsibilty is the same - carry the fragrance of Christ everywhere we go.  It is not up to us to make it attractive, but to faithfully present it in our words and deeds.  Jus' Sayn.