The Fragrance Of Christ

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.

I always loved visiting my uncle Mike. He had a tenderness to him that would draw you in. He listened. And although he was very wise, he was never arrogant. You got the sense that when he was with you, you were the most important person to him in that moment.

But Mike didn’t become who he was instantaneously or by chance. If you heard Mike’s story, you’d find it was one of heartbreak and pain, deep loss and trials. Mike hadn’t had an easy life. And on the surface, it would seem like the things that had happened to him could have made him very harsh or angry. But Mike knew Jesus, and through every trial, he allowed himself to be formed more and more into his image.

Mike wasn’t perfect, but he was just so approachable. He’d allowed Jesus to take experiences that could have made him a very bitter man and instead use them to make him compassionate and kind. He was easily able to listen to anyone’s pain, sitting with them in their own suffering, because he knew what it was like. I remember my husband once commenting after spending a little time with Mike, “Why do I feel like I could just cry with him?”

I smiled.

“Because Mike has the spirit of Jesus like few people I have met,” I responded. “He’s allowed God to wear down all his rough edges, and love shines through above anything else.”

We all desire to follow Mike’s example, giving off a “Christ-like fragrance” that rises up to please God, but to do so, we must be willing to be formed by Christ. We must allow him to shape us in the way that we follow his commands to love God and others. We mustn’t allow our circumstances to make us bitter, but instead allow God to use all things to bring him glory.

Mike would be the first to tell you he’s not an exceptional person, just one who sought Jesus, however imperfectly, his whole life. We can do the same. I’m so glad God doesn’t have favorites: what he offers to one, he’ll give to another. We just have to seek after him.

Kendra

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Ask God to show you how your life spreads the fragrance of Christ. And for the areas that it doesn’t yet, ask him to show you how you can follow him even more.