Are We the Fragrance of Christ?

I love roses. On different Ellel Ministries properties where I have been, there are roses that have the most amazing fragrance and others that have no fragrance at all.

I love to smell roses. I could drink in their fragrance all day. It is a delight to the senses and feeds my spirit. On researching why some roses have fragrance and others don’t, I found out that roses were created to have fragrance so that they would attract the bees and insects to pollinate them. The reason a rose has no fragrance is that man has bred them for their larger flowers and longer stems and colour, but in that process, they have lost their fragrance. Also, when they are grown in a hot house for commercial purposes, they don’t need to attract the insects, therefore have no fragrance. I don’t know about you, but I would prefer one rose whose fragrance is profuse to a lot of roses with no fragrance at all. They may look pretty, but they just are lacking something.

I was thinking that is what it is like in the body of Christ. We might look good, have all the attractions, but actually there is no fragrance of Christ. It is all show. Do we stand up for the truth of God’s word or have we become fearful of men and compromise the truth? We are not fragrant if the truth has been compromised. We need to be standing true to our name. If we call ourselves Christians, then we need to live and stand for a Holy God who will not be compromised.

If we do compromise the truth, the fragrance of Christ will not be in us. Yes, God is love, but love does not embrace everything. We love our children, but if they want to put their fingers in an electric socket, we prevent them from doing it, because we love them and value them. We don’t say, because we love them, we let them go their own way. If God embraced all things, because He is love, even sinful things, then Jesus did not have to die to be our Saviour, for what would He be saving us from?

So, we might need to ask ourselves the question, “Are we the fragrance of Christ, blossoming and blooming in the truth and love of God, or do we look OK, but really have compromised what a true Christian should be?"

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to be like that fragrant rose, created with fragrance as God made it, not reconstructed by man and fear of man to compromise Your truth. Help me to live for You and reflect Your Glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.