Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What is that smell? Is it Notre Dame?

I have a scentsy in my classroom, and my students love it.  For those of you who may not know what a scentsy is, it is a candle warmer that allows you to scent a room without a flame.  These are delightful!  (If you need one, let me know and I can hook you up with my friend Jessica who sells them)  Without fail, my students walk in and say, "It smells so good in here.  What is that?"  Yes, they know it is my scentsy, but they want to know what fragrance I am warming.  My answer is always the same.  I simply say, "It's me".    
Yesterday, as I answered with my usual "it's me", I couldn't help but think about 2 Corinthians 2, where Paul is telling the Corinthians that God uses us to tell others about Him and spread the Good News like a sweet perfume.   I can't help but wonder what my life smells like to those around me?  Is my life a pleasant fragrance that others enjoy and are drawn to?  Or does my life make others want to make the face I make when I open Rhett's bedroom door?  
In this portion of scripture, Paul says "to those who are perishing we are a fearful smell of death and doom.  But to those who are being saved we are a life-giving perfume."  He is actually referring to something the people understood. In this day, after a victory a Roman general would display his battle treasures within a cloud of incense in a presentation for the gods.  Those who were victorious in the battle loved the scent and the fragrance was a smell of victory for them.  For those who had been defeated, it was a stinch of death and destruction.  
I'm not sure if you heard, but there was a football game last night.  The Crimson Tide once again brought home a national championship, defeating number one ranked Notre Dame.  In my first block class today, the Bama fans were smiling and talked about how they enjoyed the game.  Those (okay, I think there was one) who were rooting for Notre Dame, however, had a slightly different look on their faces.  Nevertheless, we all understand the very different attitudes associated with victory and defeat. 
I do not think Paul is saying here that we need to smell bad to those who are lost.  So, therefore, continue to wear deodorant, please.  I think he means we need to be representing Christ in such a way that when others are around us, they understand their need for Christ and feel the need to make reconciliation with Him.  We need to represent Him in a manner that reveals truth. 
May we remember that we cannot do this on our own, but when we deny ourselves and allow Him to fill us, we overflow with His love and power and others will notice.  No, not everyone will appreciate what and Who we represent, but their response is not our responsibility- our responsibility is to be obedient to Christ. 
The question for today is really not whether or not Notre Dame stinks, but what aroma are we giving off?  May we be the aroma of the One who is really #1. 

1 comment:

  1. Great application, Heather. Thank you for sharing. I KNOW you are in a setting where God can (and does) use you.

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