Do You Know God Cares about How You Smell!

Did you know God likes perfume? And you are going to see that you are that perfume!

When God was giving instructions to Moses in what to put in the Old Testament tabernacle, surprisingly, He tells him in Exodus 30 to make a small alter to burn incense on it, just in front of the entrance to the Holy of Holies. As I read that passage recently, I prayed and asked the Lord, why He wanted incense burned in front of the door to where His presence lived among Israel.

It reminded me of the "hippy" days when it seemed like everybody burned incense. I think back on this time and thought it was probably just for fun and it could have made you feel cool. But then again, some people burned it to cover the smell of other things they smoked. I was not a part of that, but I do remember lots of people burning incense.

So, I was prayerfully wondering why God would want sweet smelling incense to be burning in front of the Holy of Holies. Immediately my mind went to 2 Corinthians 2:15, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." As we depend on Jesus Christ to live through us, we exude the aroma of Christ.

One of our staff had surgery a few months ago. He told me that the nurses and assistants just seemed to like to come in his room. Why? Because he was relying upon Jesus in him during his recovery and they could "smell" it. They did not know what it was but it was Jesus Christ they smelled.

Ellen (my wife) and I were recently in a city where we had to ride the bus quite a bit. It was amazing that almost every time we got on the bus, women who sat beside her wanted to engage her in conversations. She would look for an opportunity to talk with them about the One who lives in her, Jesus. Some times she shared the gospel with those without Christ. Sometimes, she explained the grace of God to those who were in Christ. Other times, she just listened and talked. It got to be a joke that every time we got on the bus, some lady would end up talking with her. Why? They smelled Jesus as He was expressing Himself through her, whether she was talking or just sitting.

Wherever you go, to work, to run, to the kid's games, to worship, to your neighbor, you can be the aroma of Christ if you will ask Him to live His life through you. This is a sweet spiritual perfume to God just as the incense in the tabernacle was a sweet physical perfume to God. Part of my daily prayer each day is, "Jesus fill me with Your love for me and live Your life through me today." I encourage you to make this request a part of your daily prayers too

Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding