"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ,
and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."
and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."
2 Corinthians 2:14
His secretary had just arrived for work. Not long after she arrived, his eyes began to water and he was sneezing. He knew exactly the problem. He was allergic to the fragrance of her perfume. He said to her, "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm allergic to your perfume." She said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I understand. Give me time to go and change my fragrance." She did and he was fine. She had no idea, until he said something, that her fragrance was causing him problems.
As Christians, our attitude can give people a fragrance that repels them. We may believe the right way, but our attitude can be offensive to people. On the other hand, a good fragrance can attract people to us. It may not be so much about what we say or do, but it could be our fragrance. A bad attitude repels people. They may not be rejecting our faith nor what we do. It just may be that we have a bad fragrance. They may never say anything to us, but they will try to stay away from us, and we may never know the truth.
What is the fragrance that we need to wear? The apostle Paul makes it clear in the same chapter of our verse for today. "Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him" (2 Cor. 2:7). Love is the fragrance that draws people to us. It's the Spirit of God's love. We may speak the truth, but if it's not in love, then it gives a bad fragrance. We may even do the right thing, but if it is not done in love, the fragrance will repel people. Let the fragrance of God's love touch others through you. What's your fragrance?
Father, lead us to do and say all things through the fragrance of Your love in Christ. Amen.
