What Do You Smell Like?

Did the title grab your attention?  I have been thinking about what I smell like these days. Am I fragrant, or do I permeate a bad smell that makes people not want to be near me?  My desire is that I would be a pleasing fragrance first to the Lord.  Secondly, I want others to smell the fragrance of the Lord on me.  Is that possible?  Is it something others can smell? It was Christ who first offered Himself as a pleasing aroma to God on our behalf:

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. (Ephesians 5:2)

If my smell is to be sweet, I must first walk in love, following Christ's example.  This is not something that is always easy for me.  I often speak harshly out of frustration, and I've been known to raise my voice to my children, thinking that if I did that they would truly hear what I was saying.  I forget that it's when God comes with a still, small voice, how I am more prone to listen.  I have been known to have a bad attitude without any regard to how it may be affecting the atmosphere around me. I am on a journey of self-discovery and learning how to love myself as well as others the way Christ loves. When we are walking in love, we just smell good and others are attracted to us.  When we aren't walking in love, well, we stink.  Who wants to be around someone who stinks?

I took this picture at my sister's house on Mother's Day.  Isn't this rose beautiful?  Not being a gardner myself, I did some research on roses.  I believe there is much we can learn from a well-taken care of rose and the beautiful fragrance it produces. 

• Sunlight -  Roses need plenty of sunlight.  As Christians, we must continually walk in the Light of His love.  We are called to shine forth the glory of the Lord!

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the
LORD has risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)

• Good soil - Roses must be planted in good soil if they are going to grow.  We must continue to allow our roots to go down deeper into the good soil of Christ. It's just easier to plant things in good soil!

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:3-9)

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.  (Colossians 2:7)

• Fertilizer - Roses are fertilized twice a year so they will reproduce.  We must fertilize our minds with His word daily so that we can grow and be more like Him.

Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth. (Matthew 4:4-Message)

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.  (2 Corinthians 3:18

• Pruning - Roses are pruned to allow for new growth.  We must embrace the pruning of the Lord.  It is for our benefit and good things will grow in our lives because of it.
• Thinning - Roses are thinned, removing dead leaves and stems to allow for health and vitality.  We must allow the Lord to remove from our lives anything which will hinder us from bearing good fruit. 

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. (John 15:1-4)

I want everything that I do, and every attitude that I have, to be a sweet smelling fragrance unto the Lord. I want my love for the Lord and for others to be attracting to the world around me. I want the fragrance of Heaven to permeate out of every fiber of my being. Through my life, I want others to taste and see that the Lord is good!