WHAT\'S THAT SMELL?
By: Tim & Cheri Henderson
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
2 Corinthians 2:15 NKJV
When Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were the aroma of Christ, some historians and theologians think he may have been referring to Roman victory parades. These lavish parades were conducted by the Romans to celebrate the great victorious achievements of their military battles. At the front of the parade, carriages and wagons filled with bouquets of flowers passed by the crowds. Incense bearers swung containers of burning incense, sending clouds of sweet-smelling incense over the people lining the streets—the scent of victory! However, at the end of the procession, captives from the battle, chained in cages and still encrusted with the sweat and filth of battle, were then paraded past the crowds. The stench from these who would soon be executed was in distinct contrast to the fragrance the crowds had just enjoyed— the stench of death and defeat.
As one saved by Christ, your life is a sweet fragrance to those who love Him and are being saved, but a smell of doom to those who refuse to believe. How do you smell—the sweetness of life in Christ or the odor of doom to come? Share your sweet fragrance with someone today!
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
2 Corinthians 2:15 NKJV
When Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were the aroma of Christ, some historians and theologians think he may have been referring to Roman victory parades. These lavish parades were conducted by the Romans to celebrate the great victorious achievements of their military battles. At the front of the parade, carriages and wagons filled with bouquets of flowers passed by the crowds. Incense bearers swung containers of burning incense, sending clouds of sweet-smelling incense over the people lining the streets—the scent of victory! However, at the end of the procession, captives from the battle, chained in cages and still encrusted with the sweat and filth of battle, were then paraded past the crowds. The stench from these who would soon be executed was in distinct contrast to the fragrance the crowds had just enjoyed— the stench of death and defeat.
As one saved by Christ, your life is a sweet fragrance to those who love Him and are being saved, but a smell of doom to those who refuse to believe. How do you smell—the sweetness of life in Christ or the odor of doom to come? Share your sweet fragrance with someone today!