The smell was repugnant. The flies pestilential. Suggestions were made. Investigations were conducted. Traps were implemented. The source remained an enigma, and nothing would quell the plague subjugating our church kitchen in the Summer of 2025.
Sounds like the beginnings of a great novel, doesn't it? Okay, maybe not so great; but definitely based on fact. And the story ends with a tray of meat found putrefying (and being ingested by some very grateful grub-sized maggots) in one of the ovens weeks after a potluck.
God, through Paul's writing to the Corinthians, says:
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.
Thanks be to God. It's a glorious thing to be a diffuser of the fragrance of the knowledge of God! We emanate His light wherever we go. We broadcast His goodness and His passion through our love for one another. We carry with us in our character His very image. We cannot hide the fact we know Him! At least, that should be our testimony.
But, we are cautioned, not everyone is as exuberant:
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life... (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)
Fragrance. The candle burning in my office as I write. The flowers given to me by our neighbors. Pleasant and welcome. But the aroma of death? To those who reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to those who choose death over life, the words of Christ through us and His character on display through His people herald their death. Who would make such a choice? The proud who do not submit to a humble and almighty King. The "intelligent" to whom the account of a risen Savior makes no sense. The self-seeking who refuse to cede their pursuit for the pursuit of Christ. The legalists who believe it is possible to save themselves without the extravagant grace of God and mercy for others. The choice to adopt a lie as the groundwork for their life --in spite of the fragrance of Truth --is the way of death. And it smells. BAD!
I know what it means to double-down on my choices, to become angry and offended by those who bring conviction to my front door. I've been that person. And for that person, the fragrance of Christ is an offense, a stumbling block. But all the offense in the world doesn't remove eternal consequences. All the rebellion and rage, pride and pedantry doesn't save anyone from the stench and hatching flies. And it's vital everyone hears that message --whether they love us for it or not. Romans 10:15 tells us the feet who bring the good news of the gospel of peace are beautiful! That's what God says. There will be those who choose death over life, decomp over beauty; but let us boldly go forth, in triumph in Christ and diffuse the fragrance of the knowledge of Him wherever we go.
(And double-check our ovens.)
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