So, Christian, you’re heading
out into the world this week with an awesome privilege. Do you know what it
is? You are an ambassador of Christ’s realm!! Yes, God has credentialed
you (and me!) to represent Him before our neighbors, friends, family … all
those with whom we come in contact. Read this commission carefully even
though you may be familiar with it. "God … gave us the ministry
of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not
counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were
making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled
to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21, NIV)
At the end of the day, what
will people think of Jesus because of you? Will they see the purpose that
knowing Him gives us and want to join in His work of changing hatred to love,
fear to faith? Saving the world is an all-consuming purpose that He
allows us to share. Will they see the generosity of spirit that being loved
intensely makes possible and want to know His love, too? Of course they
might not get all that in just one encounter. Like it or not, as we are
identified as Christ-followers, others will form conclusions about Who Jesus is
from the words we say, the attitudes we hang onto you, and the values that
guide our choices.
Paul says that as we move
through life, we leave behind a smell. To some, it’s a sweet scent. To others,
it’s the stink of death! "I am grateful that God always makes it
possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the
knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of
perfume. In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone.
For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads them
to a better life. But for people who are lost, it has a bad smell and leads
them to a horrible death. No one really has what it takes to do this work."
(2 Corinthians 2:14-16, CEV)
What 'fragrance' will you
leave behind in the rooms you pass through on this day? Will people 'smell' the
sweet perfume of the holiness of Jesus on you? Paul asks, "And
who is adequate for such a task as this?" You see, we can't
splash on a little "Jesus" perfume to cover the stink of persistent
and deliberate disobedience or hypocrisy! The fragrance of Christ permeates
our lives ONLY WHEN we have spent time with Him, soaking in His Spirit which
lets His character be created in us! Sit down and rest in His Presence. Invite
Him to live in you. Then, your inadequacy will be wrapped and covered by His
Presence. The 'fragrance' that trails you will be the sweet smell of LIFE, both
pleasing to God and those who love Him!
Let me leave you with a
little story my friend Marie Armenia told on Facebook last week about her Mom.
Keep in mind that Marie’s mom is 91 and has been a Christian for a long,
long time. She represented Jesus this way. “During the course of
our afternoon we saw a woman who had a tattoo on her wrist. She was waiting on
my mom. My mother, who never met a stranger, took her wrist and said, "Oh,
that's pretty." She asked her questions like, "Didn't that hurt when
they were doing that?" She is, at 91, still VERY curious about EVERYTHING.
And then.. as I knew she would.. my mother got around to The Gospel. My mother
was not grasping what the woman was ACTUALLY saying. Until she finally said it
bluntly, "I do not want Jesus in my life. I do not want Jesus." My
mother was polite and loving to her, and a few minutes later we were on our way
and back in the car. I looked over at my mother and huge tears were rolling
down her face. She was crying about the choice the woman made. She was praying
for the woman and so brokenhearted for her. I realized then that I was seeing
the Heart of God sitting in the front seat of the car next to me. I was seeing
God's heart for humanity: pleading, calling, wanting none to perish; not
angry and vengeful but brokenhearted and mournful when anyone rejects His Only
Son.”
So, how do you smell to the
world as you pass through it? I pray that the fragrance of Jesus leaves
an unforgettable impression on others through you today.
_________________
Let the beauty of Jesus be
seen in me,
All His wonderful passion
and purity.
O my Savior divine, all my
nature refine,
‘Till the beauty of Jesus
be seen in me.
-
Albert Orbson, public domain
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