Heartprints

4 Ways to Be The Fragrance of Christ

It doesn’t take much of something that gives off an odor to have an effect.

Living in the country, my environment is full of smells. Some good, like flowers, fresh cut grass and, call me crazy, but, cows!! I know. It’s weird; but, I love the cows and their smell. So cute!

Some smells, though, are repugnant! Like, a take your breath kind of stinks. For instance skunks who get scared by dogs and dogs who get sprayed by said skunks and cars that said skunks hid under when spraying dogs. It was nasty. We tried every home remedy; but nothing worked. It finally died out…I think.

Aromas, even nasty ones, can be tolerated in moderation. Just like good ones can be bad when there’s too much. Perfume is a great example of this. I personally wish perfume bottles came with some kind of regulatory mandate. And if the wearer cannot apply it appropriately, they get fined or sent to mall jail or something. You know? Maybe perfume isn’t your nemesis, but, I’m sure there’s a smell you’d like regulated. Actually,  I live in a house full of teenaged boys. There are a LOT of smells I’d like regulated.

Did you know that believers are called to be the fragrance of Jesus?

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every placeFor we are to God the fragrance of Christ…

I love this wording, “diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge…we are the fragrance of Christ.” Beautiful!

So, how can we diffuse the fragrance of Christ?

1.  Be Likeminded with Jesus. A diffuser dispenses only one thing. That one thing fo

r us has to be the truth of Jesus. There are many “version” of Jesus (Christians) our there, unfortunately, and it’s confusing to people who are trying to learn who Jesus truly is so they can decide whether to trust Him. If we share what we’ve heard or stick to, “Well, that’s how I grew up,” we are not giving the aroma of Christ but of religion.

Being likeminded with Christ also means we share what people need. Do not debate doctrine or morality with an unbeliever. Share Jesus with them. Be Jesus to them. An unbeliever cannot understand anything from a Biblical standpoint without the Holy Spirit. They need to know Christ first and foremost.

2. Be Authentic. Our words and our deeds must line up with each other and the Bible. Hypocrisy is as pungent of a smell as a skunk or a whole bottle of perfume. I’ll just leave this one right here…

3. Be Consistent. The job of a diffuser is to regulate the flow of whatever it’s spraying. God’s Word is abundant. The true magnitude of who God is and all that He is, is a lot to take in. We are called to diffuse a steady flow of His love. To draw people to Him by the sweet aroma of His grace and truth and mercy.

4. Be Prepared. We have to prepare our words and our message; but we also have to prepare our hearts for the effect we will have on people. Verse16 says, to the saved we are an “aroma of life leading to life and to the perishing, an aroma of death leading to death.” We won’t be well received by all people. The fragrance of Christ will be offensive to those who reject Him. We will be rejected. We will be offensive, but, it doesn’t mean our message is flawed. Just like all perfume doesn’t stink, but, to the a person who is allergic, it is just as intolerable.

It sounds easy…be the fragrance; but the fragrance of Christ is modeling HIS Love and HIS Sacrifice. 

Ephesians 5:1-2

As believers we have to be mindful of our fragrance to our world. Diffuse God’s love in a gentle, loving way and not be overbearing with our presentation of Christ. 

Be fragrant not flagrant…(See what I did there)

What is your favorite way to share Christ with people?