So, I opened up the patio door to let the dog out and was immediately smacked in the face with the most horrendous stench! A skunk had obviously been in our backyard. It was awful!
I can think of a thousand things I'd rather smell than that!
The Lord doesn't like foul odors any more than we do. Of wicked and rebellious people, He says, "These people are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away." (Isaiah 65:5 NLT)
Disobedience is an awful stench in God's nostrils. Obedience smells good to Him.
The sweet fragrance of sacrifice is mentioned 40 times in the Scriptures.
God wants us, those who believe in Jesus Christ His Son, to smell good.
Through His servant Paul, God says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1)
Basically, He says, "Don't stink like the world. Be a sweet fragrance for Me."
What is this sweet fragrance? Take a look at how God describes it in His Word...
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Corinthians 2:14-16 ESV)
Did you catch that? God says we His children smell like Jesus!
Imperial Majesty, the most expensive perfume in the world, sells at for $435,000 a bottle. (No kidding! Check the link if you don't believe it.) $435,000 is an awful lot of money. You could buy a decent house and a car and send a couple of kids to college for that kind of money. But, even a luxury perfume will eventually evaporate into nothingness, the house and car will some day rot away and there will be nothing left.
The "fragrance of the knowledge of him", the "aroma of Christ" and the "fragrance from life to life" were purchased with something of far more value than money. They were paid for by the blood of Christ and freely given to those who trust in Him and they will last for all eternity!
The more time we spend with Jesus and the more we become like Him, the sweeter we smell to God.
Do you smell good?
Father, thank You so much for Your Son who gave Himself as a sacrifice for my sin. Help me to become more and more like Him, for Your glory and to be a sweet smelling fragrance for You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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