Family of God: Re: [FamilyofGod] The Fragrance of Love

Love yur posts. Amen

On Wed Jan 12th, 2011 7:37 AM EST Michael J. Knight wrote:

>
>The Fragrance of Love
>
>There's a magnet on my refrigerator door with a picture of a little girl
>holding a long-stemmed rose. Her eyes sparkle as if the aroma from the
>rose is an absolute delight. On the back of the magnet a friend had
>written a note to me: "May you be the sweet fragrance of life wherever
>you go." 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.
>
>I hadn't thought of that magnet in months, until yesterday. I'd been
>short-tempered at work and had retreated into the restroom to cool down
>and to repent. As I asked God to forgive me, He reminded me of the
>magnet and its message.
>
>Yet I wasn't sure I understood how to be that heavenly fragrance. The
>essence of Christ is love, but what does love smell like?
>
>"Why, it smells like sauteed onions, of course," popped into my mind. I
>remembered the day that I first discovered that truth. I recalled
>sitting on the bed. I was exhausted.
>
>Then the most heavenly aroma wafted upstairs, tantalizing me. Sauteed
>onions. My mom was preparing dinner.
>
>"That's the fragrance of love," I thought. Those sizzling onions spoke
>of my mom's care and sacrifice for me. I knew that she was tired too,
>but out of her love for me, she was fixing dinner. No roses, chocolate
>or perfume ever smelled so sweet as those onions did on that day.
>
>So I began to wonder about how many times the fragrance of love comes to
>us, and is experienced by us, without ever being recognized. As I
>meditated on this, a variety of scenes rushed through my mind, and with
>them, a diversity of scents that carried the message, "I love you."
>
>As a father comes in from the fields after working a 12-hour day to
>provide for his family, love smells like sweat and fertilizer. Love is
>also the powdery aroma of fresh-baked, homemade biscuits that a mother
>prepares early in the morning for her family's breakfast.
>
>It's the meaty aroma of chicken soup brought over by a friend who heard
>that you were under the weather. Or it can be the faint odor of gasoline
>on a stranger who stopped to help when you ran out of gas.
>
>As we walk in the principles of God's Word, our lives manifest God's
>love that draws people to the Savior.
>
>Love has many expressions, many fragrances. But the fragrance of love
>that is more costly than any other aroma or perfume was made one time,
>for all time. It is the fragrance of Jesus' love poured out at the cross
>for us.
>
>I took out my Bible and read once again the Scripture verses cited on my
>magnet:
>
>"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and
>through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For
>we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved
>and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death
>leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
>And who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NKJV)
>
>In a Roman triumphal procession, the Roman general would display his
>treasures and captives amidst a cloud of incense burned for the gods. To
>the victors, the aroma was sweet; to the captives in the parade, it was
>the smell of slavery and death. When Christians preach the gospel, it is
>good news to some and repulsive news to others. Believers recognize the
>life-giving fragrance of the message. To nonbelievers, however, it
>smells foul, like death -- their own.
>
>As I read the words of verse 15, "For we are to God the fragrance of
>Christ. . . . ," I thought of how awesome it is that the Father looks
>down on us and catches the aroma of Christ whispering that we belong to
>Him.
>
>Remember
>Only one life, will soon be past,
>Only what is done, for Christ will last.
>
>The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
>communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians
>13:14)
>
>Love & Prayers,
>
>Michael J. Knight.
>
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-C-T-S/
><http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-C-T-S/>
>
>What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
>
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