How do you smell today?

Recently I shared that I was asked to speak at our church's women's brunch. I love to write. I actually really like to speak in public (unlike most people!) but speaking on something I've written is more intimidating. I guess because you have to be more vulnerable to share something that is really a part of you. I had considered posting the devotional that I wrote on my blog, but felt hesitant because I didn't want it to come across like I thought I was amazing or anything. But I honestly kept feeling like I should, like God was reminding me that somebody out there needed to read what I had written. So hopefully this is encouraging to even one person out there....

 Fresh cut flowers or wedding cake? Two amazing smells. {our wedding cake}

But thanks be to God, who always lead us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:14 - 16

The theme from these verses is that we were designed as believers to draw others to God, to attract them to his abundant love, and to the truth of who Jesus is. As Christians the way we live our lives, the way we love others, the things we say and do can all be used by God to bring others to Christ.

Some days, maybe I'm like this. Some days I hope that the joy I find in Jesus is sweetly seen by the others in my life. Some days my heart is so bursting from knowing the love of God that it overflows into my marriage, my parenting, my friendships, and my interactions with strangers. I really, really hope that your heart is so full and on fire for Jesus that your aroma, your fragrance, is sweet because that is awesome and that is fully how God desires us to be!

But what about the times when we aren't that sweet fragrance? I believe that God desires us to be authentic and real, and the real truth is that most of us will face days when we just don't smell that good. Maybe we can cover up our struggles with perfume, but the depths of our hearts are struggling to be that aroma for Jesus.

When I first thought of the word “fragrance” I immediately thought of the scent of a strong perfume. You know that scent of perfume that almost overwhelms you? Nobody wants to sit next to the person wearing too much perfume and I don't think the way we share Jesus should be obnoxious towards others, so I  tried to picture this in a different way. I thought of other fragrances that I enjoy. One of my favorite smells is fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. If I walk into your home, and it smells like cookies, I'm staying for a while. I don't care if its the real deal or a Scentsy warmer, I just want to stay somewhere that smells like a fresh baked goods. The other scent I thought of is that of the people I love the most. Not the scent of their perfume or cologne, but the scent that comes from their natural being. If I stop and think about it I can imagine the scent of my husband, the smell of my little girl Eva, and even the smell of my mom. I can think about their natural essence and it just draws me to them, it is a sweet aroma that makes me want to be near them. Isn't there somebody in your life that you can just imagine how they smell? That natural smell is part of what draws us to them, what attracts us to them.

Scripture doesn't tell us specifically what God smells like. Some people think it might be similar to the smell of incense that it used so often throughout the Old Testament. Other people suggest it could be more like the scent of milk and honey that is used to describe the Promise Land. Milk and honey seem closer baked goods to me, so I think I'll imagine that it could be that. But since we don't know what God's scent is,  lets look instead at what attracts us to God. What are the parts of His essence that make us want to draw near to him?

Side note: I tried to take the easy way out on this one by using Google. I typed in “What attracts us to God?” and it pulled up instead, “How to attract a Godly man”  Already good there! I decided to use my Bible as my guide instead of Google.

I came up with 6 main things that attract me to God. Let's pretend that each is a petal on a flower so that we have a good way to remember them.{I had actual flower petal cutouts when I was speaking. Gotta put that elementary teacher degree to good us!) 

The first is forgiveness. Psalm 103:12 says that “As far as the East is from the West, so your sins are forgiven.” I am attracted to the absolute, complete forgiveness that we receive when we put our faith in Christ.

The second is compassion. In Mark chapter 1 we read the story of the man with leprosy who came to Jesus on his knees, begging him for healing. And Mark 1:41 says, “Jesus was filled with compassion. He reached out his hand and touched the man.” Our God isn't afraid to get involved in our messy lives because of his great compassion towards us.

The third is provision. At first I hesitated to include this one because I didn't want anyone to get the message that we only love God because of what we can get from him. That's definitely not the point of following Jesus. Rather it's that we are deeply thankful for all that God provides us. Many people are familiar with the story in Mark chapter 6 where he feeds the five thousand. This short story shows us how excellently he provided for the people's physical needs while at the same time providing for their spiritual needs.

The fourth is God's strength. When the Israelite were escaping from Egypt God parted the Red Sea – he literally made the water into 2 separate walls. When Jesus and his disciples were out in a boat and the sea got rough, Jesus calmed the storm. When I read these stories I can picture how strong water is, how powerful the ocean waves seem when I'm trying to swim in them. And yet for God, that was nothing. His strength is attractive to me.

The fifth is God's faithfulness. Psalm 57:10 says that God's “Faithfulness reaches to the skies.” As I look at different seasons of my life I can say that absolutely, God has been faithful in his ways every single time, every single day.

And the last is God's love. And I'm actually making this the center of the flower because I felt like it was the piece that holds all the other pieces together. Exodus 4:6 says that God is “abounding in love,” John 3:16 says that “For God SO LOVED the world that he can his only son,” John 14:21 says that “The one who loves me (Jesus) will be loved by my Father.”

So all this takes me back to my question, “What about the days when we don't feel like being that sweet fragrance?” And here is what I believe. On those days when you know what God has called you to be, but you don't feel like a sweet aroma, you take your aroma from HIM. When we stop and read and pray about who God is, when we think about that parts of his nature that our fragrant to us, that attract us to Him, we will be better enabled to show those qualities to others. When we think of how God has forgiven us, we can offer the sweet aroma of forgiveness to someone who has hurt us. Remembering God's provision in our lives can encourage us to be generous in providing for the needs of others. When we are covered in the smell of God's compassion to His people we can let compassion flow out of our lives. When we are assured of God's amazing strength, we can be bold in sharing the gospel, knowing that it's not our own strength but the fragrance of the Lord that is being brought to those who hear it. When we can fully believe that God will always be faithful to us, we are freed from the burden of worry and fear. We can act more in love towards our friends and our families and our neighbors when we are reminded of a love so great and so deep that nothing can separate us from it.

.....This is most of what I said, not all of it.  I hope it helps YOU to remember how sweet God's aroma is so that you can share it with others!