Ye Olde Crock-pot

Thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Don’t you love walking into a home on a cold day and smelling the aroma of dinner cooking?

When fall brings the first chill in the air, I can’t wait to pull out the old Crock-Pot that my grandmother Nana gave us as a wedding present. The convenience of throwing in a variety of ingredients in the morning and knowing that a no-fuss meal will be ready at dinnertime makes my day! And don’t you wish your drop-in visitors would come on a Crock-Pot day and be so impressed with the mouth-watering aroma drifting through your home, instead of on a day you purposely planned to stay in your pajamas and were going to heat up leftovers?

God tells all believers that we smell like Christ to each other and to Him, because Christ’s Spirit in His children is a scent that attracts us to each other. We recognize His fragrance in others because we know Him in ourselves. He is a unifier among His people, the fragrance of life that we share in Him. God’s scent either draws or repels others, depending on whether their hearts are open to Him. Just as fragrances are undeniably pleasant or distasteful, His aroma carries the message of death to those still in opposition to Him.

As believers, living true to God’s Word and in obedience to Him, we diffuse His aroma around others, and He always smells wonderful. Even those who don’t readily recognize the true Source of the aroma may be curious about His signature scent of salvation, truth, and grace.

The next time the aroma from the Crock-Pot welcomes us home, let’s be reminded that we smell like Christ to God, and that smells good! Plan to share a Crock-Pot meal with someone this week.