Let’s get “smelly” … like Cauliflower! (based on 2 Corinthians 2)

Do you remember aroma smell of baking bread? Ahhhh … It fills the house and is absolutely wonderful.

And chocolate chip cookies … WOW! How do you describe that aroma? … I am sure you understand!

Isn’t it interesting that Paul uses “Aroma-Language” to describe the incredible way that God uses us to spread the message of His love for the world in Christ. Through us …

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved … 2 Corinthians 2:13-15 (NIV)

So you and me, often … let’s say. “smelly” become the fragrant aroma of baking bread or chocolate chip cookies when God uses us to share His message of hope with the world. That’s a real upgrade for me. I would guess it is for you too.

But I need to share the rest of this section of Scripture with you. Here it is …

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. 2 Corinthians 2:13-16a (NIV)

So what that means is sometimes we “smell” good and sometimes we don’t.

Like cauliflower …

I love cauliflower. And when you are on a diet, it is a great, low-cal, filling food. Julie even whips it up sometimes so it is like mashed potatoes. It is great. So when I come home and smell cauliflower cooking … GOOD NEWS for me! It is a fragrant aroma.

But the other evening, after I had finished my delicious cauliflower and chicken meal … while the “fragrant aroma” still wafted in the air, one of my sons (who had been working on a project at school) got home and asked …

“What smells so bad?”

Yikes! To me it was the fragrant aroma of a delicious meal. To him it was … again, let’s just say, not so fragrant! Good thing for him he was having “tater-tot-casserole” By the way, “TTC” another very fragrant … non-diet friendly meal … like homemade bread and chocolate chip cookies. And lest you think I misspoke when I said meal, come on! Haven’t you made a meal out of freshly baked bread or chocolate chip cookies? That’s part of the reason for the diet!

Anyway …

When we carry the message of Christ, the truth is that some will believe and be saved … others will reject it. Peter said the same thing. For some, the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a stumbling block and an offense. The good news is, we don’t have to decide who “smells” what. God takes care of that.

But I did have one more thought about how we “smell.” We could probably make a pretty wonderful loaf of bread seem to smell pretty bad … if we, let’s say, throw it in with dirty laundry. We could even make chocolate chip cookies seem to smell terrible if we put them in a gym bag with sweaty clothes. So here is my point …

We need to be sure that the fragrant aroma of Jesus fills our lives, our actions, our words, our attitude and our thoughts so that we don’t unintentionally “smell” up the message of God’s love for someone else. It is a big responsibility, but remember, the Holy Spirit is there to do the hard work. Trust Him!

I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you and believe in you. I think you “smell” great!

Listen to 2 Corinthians 2 here.