But 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 2:12-16a NLT
In the ancient days of Rome, whenever a military general won a major victory for the empire, he would be celebrated and paraded through the streets of Rome. One of the ways people would know that the triumphal procession had begun was the sweet smell of incense coming from the pagan altars throughout the city. For the people of Rome this was the scent of victory. There armies had prevailed over their foes! However, for those who had been captured in battle this scent meant utter defeat. It was the aroma of certain death.
The Apostle Paul said that we are the fragrance of Christ among all people (2 Corinthians 2:12-17). Take a moment to ponder this truth. We smell of our Savior. We are like perfume wafting all over the earth. The aroma testifies to the fact that Christ is victorious over sin and death. They are defeated foes! To some, we are the most pleasing fragrance that they have ever known. But to others, we smell as putrid as a rotting corpse. Either you want to wear the perfume for all of eternity or want nothing more than to rid yourself of the stench.
Brothers and sisters, if this is who we are in Christ then we be about going. We must go where the fragrance of Christ has never been encountered. In some parts of the world, they haven’t even caught a whiff of Jesus. The have no idea that Jesus has won the victory. The only thing worse than someone thinking the fragrance of Christ is revolting is someone never getting the opportunity to decide for themselves. The Lord is diffusing His people in all the world to make Christ’s name known. Church, what good is perfume if it never leaves the bottle?
