Spread the Aroma of Christ at Christmas

I love the inviting scents of Christmas. Cookies baking in the oven. Christmas ham. Hot chocolate with crushed peppermint on whipped cream. Cinnamon, cranberries and cloves simmering on the stove.

I recently saw an article titled "Super Simple Holiday Stovetop Simmer." In the article, Lora Bloomquist said, "With a few simple grocery store ingredients and tap water, you can enjoy a fragrant-smelling holiday home every night of the week." (Ah. I like simple.)

The RECIPE includes cranberries, cloves, Saigon cinnamon, and sliced lemons. (What's not to love?)

Fragrance is part of making the home "cozy" during the holidays, Bloomquist said, and this is "easier and less expensive" than burning fragrant candles. (Some candles can be a problem for people with allergies; but I'm not sure about cinnamon and cloves.)

As I thought about Christmas fragrances, a passage of scripture came to mind:

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

For we are the aroma of Christ to God . . . (2 Corinthians 2:14-15a).

Yes. There is an aroma more fragrant than any Christmas spices that might simmer on your stove!

The Sent One is the 'Fragrant' One

Let's backtrack a bit into the Old Testament.

• We first hear about pleasing aromas—or "sweet savors"—rising to God in the Jewish sacrifices (as in Exodus 29:18, 25; Numbers 15:3). Some of the sacrifices were designated for the atonement of the people until the promised Messiah would come.
• Later, when God, through Ezekiel, told the Jewish people He would bring them from all the lands where they had been scattered, God said: "As a pleasing aroma I will accept you . . . And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations (Ezekiel 20:41).

The aroma of a sacrifice is important to God. Over and over in the book of Leviticus, the "aroma" of sacrifice is mentioned as pleasing Him. But why? 

It's not the smell, but what the smell REPRESENTS.

Jesus was the "sent One"—the promised Messiah. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14; Galatians 4:4-5). When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He would as an adult become the "once for all" sacrifice for sinners (Hebrews 7:27). He would die in our place—the substitutionary atonement for our sin.

Paul said Jesus loved us so much He chose to die for us, and that sacrificial offering was "fragrant" to God (Ephesians 5:2b).

At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, the Father said He was "well pleased" with His Son (Mark 1:11). Jesus was without sin, and the ONLY ONE who could provide the perfect and pleasing sacrifice—acceptable to God.

Jesus' life is the sweetest "savor" of all, because He is our Savior!

According to John 3:16, those who know the Savior in a personal relationship have eternal life—and that is cause for great rejoicing!

But not everyone we meet knows Him!

That's why 2 Corinthians 2:14-15a is so important. Paul said our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.

If you are a Christ-follower, God desires to use you to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere!

• In your family
• In your neighborhood
• At your workplace
• In every setting the Lord opens to you

Just as a holiday fragrance might waft from our stovetop and fill the house with a pleasing aroma, our lives ought to fill the world with the pleasing aroma of Christ.

I laughed a little as I wrote that last sentence.

I realized it takes heat to make a stovetop fragrance fill our home. It doesn't do much sitting in a pan of water with no heat.

It may take a little "heat" from the Holy Spirit—or some difficult circumstance God uses to fire us up with a reminder of His great mercies and grace—to motivate us to share the Gospel with others.

We who enjoy the fragrance of Christ in our salvation: how can we not desire that beautiful blessing for others?

As you consider some of the lovely scents of Christmas this week, how might you share the "aroma" of the risen Christ in your circle of influence?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Public Domain at Pixabay.

How to Spread a 'Sweet Aroma'

Mary James communicates messages from the heart in her music and her writing, and in this Spiritual Life UPGRADE she invites us to think about the “scent” of our lives.

“We absorb what we are exposed to, in ways that we cannot always see,” Mary said. “For a Christ follower, the value of others’ influence should never be taken for granted—especially while the world around them is continually sending out the message, ‘anything goes.’”  

I (Dawn) am influenced by so many people and things in our culture, as are you. Sometimes we aren’t even aware of their input. Maybe it’s time we pause to think: What or who does my life, my behavior, my attitudes, reflect?

Mary continues . . .

“What is that smell?” I asked was we picked up our six-year old Pekingese from Grandma’s house recently.

Because the odor resembled burning rubber, my dear mother replied, “Maybe there was an issue with the vacuum belt. It has given us trouble before.” 

Uh, no. Isaiah had in-fact had one of those infamous “skunk encounters.” 

Fortunately, it was not a direct hit, so my husband and I were able to tolerate the aroma for the duration of our 75-minute drive home. Well, almost. 

With windows rolled down and a lengthy debate over how our furry child could have possible been hit, we stopped at the grocery story to pick up a few needed items: Dawn dishwashing soap and tomato juice.

As I checked out, the clerks began commenting on a strange odor.

The first said, “Something smells like burning rubber.”

The second quickly chimed in, “It smells like skunk to me!” 

My stomach sank, but I had to laugh and then tell them our dog had just been sprayed.

I was completely unaware his aroma had rubbed off on me.

A few days later, the music of one of my favorite artists kept playing in my head. I finally dug out the CDs and listened once more to her incredible gift. She is one of the most artistic and thought-provoking singer-songwriters I have ever heard; yet the more I listened, the more sad and uneasy I became.   

With 100 items on my “to do” list, I stayed busy as the music played. But once I slowed down and focused on her words, I understood what was impacting my mood.

The lyrics were without hope and held a distorted worldview when it came to Jesus.

If there were references to God or Christ, they came as doubt-filled, rebellious undertones, or words of blatant discontent with God. 

Despite my spiritual maturity, her attitude had subtly rubbed-off on me to the point where my joy was drowned out by her faithless lyrics and sorrow-filled melodies.  

Why did I even open that can of worms? Good question. I had enjoyed her music for so long, I thought it would be harmless to listen again. Harmless. 

These two experiences are a valuable reminder of guarding the heart.

We absorb what we are exposed to in ways we cannot always see.  Who and what we hang around matters. 

No wonder Jesus (Mark 9:42-50) and Paul (Romans 14:13-23) warned us not to do anything that will cause another person to stumble. If you grumble enough, gossip enough, overeat, drink, smoke or cuss around those you are in relationship with, your “aroma” can subtly become theirs (or vice versa).   

For a Christ follower, the value of others’ influence should never be taken for granted, especially while the world around them is continually sending out the message, “anything goes.”   

I admit, this seems like a daunting charge, but all who understand God’s grace know that it is by His Spirit their steps are guided. 

God also created this amazing thing called “fellowship” where Christians can act as iron (or sharpeners) in each other’s lives. If someone has a bad attitude, speaking God’s truth over each other’s skunk-ed-ness, praying, lovingly suggesting a “spiritual shower” or simply turning off bad music can truly be medicine for the heart. 

This amazing transformative stuff that happens on the inside is what shows up on the outside, causing us to be pleasing aromas to God and those around us. Just think how anger on the inside shows up on the outside, or how discontentment on the inside shows up in your shopping cart. 

I don’t know about you, but when I leave a room I certainly want the smell that lingers—the words that I deposit into hearts and minds—to be sweet; words that strengthen hearts, not weaken them.  

Let’s always remember and respond to life with this truth in mind: “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15).

Has the smell of something not so pleasant rubbed off on you? Is there any music playing in your life that needs to be turned off?

Mary James, living out the charge found in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are “Saved to proclaim the excellence of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light,” uses  music and transparent, biblically-centered messages to tear down walls and point people to Jesus. Since entering ministry in 2000, Mary has released five full-length CDs and shared the platform with Dr. David Jeremiah, Kay Arthur, Sheila Walsh, Greg Laurie, Bob Goff, Kirk Cameron and many others. She is a three-time Inspirational Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year Award winner and two-time ICM Music Evangelist of the Year Nominee.

Graphic adapted, Image courtesy of fotographic1980 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.