I rounded the corner of Joralemon to Columbia Place late this evening, lost in thought (mostly about the super-bright bishop-crook street lamps they recently installed along Joralemon), when I suddenly became very distracted by my sniffer.
A sweet, clean, floral scent wafted past my nose -- subtle, but definitely present. I sniffed and sniffed to my heart's content, breathing in the lovely smell and thinking of the lofty throng of funny-looking, delicate, pink and yellow pompons from which they emanate. There's just one mimosa tree on our block, but when it is in bloom, you know it--even in the dead of night. The scent gives it away and reminds you that it's there.
The thing that came immediately to mind in my sniffing frenzy was the verse in the Bible (II Corinthians 2:15) that says that we are called to be the fragrance of Christ, both among those who are saved and those who are perishing. In other words (I think), we are to live our lives in a manner that unmistakably testifies to Christ, His love and beauty and heart for the world.
In pondering this subject more deeply, I have just as couple observations and musings...
1. You can't see a smell. And you don't need to see, in order to smell. If you can smell it, you know it's there. I think God must have chosen to call us to be the "fragrance" of Christ rather than the "vision" or "picture" of Christ for this reason. Whether you are living and walking in the light (and therefore able to see) or perishing and walking in the darkness (and therefore not), you can smell the fragrance of Christ wherever it may be found. That is how evident our testimony of Christ must be in our daily walk.
2. My friend Jen and I were discussing Christianity over dinner tonight and commenting about how so much of our Christian life (and our Christian circles) is culturally Christian, rather than essentially Christian. Where's the line between culture and essence -- what's real, and what's fluffy costuming so that we look the part? I found this dichotomy very challenging, and I want to give it more thought. In reading John 6 this week, one verse keeps sticking out to me -- the part where the people ask what they must do to do what God requires, and Jesus responds that "The work of God is this, to believe in the one He has sent." First and foremost is not to run soup kitchens, attend Bible study, host fellowship meetings, or even share the Gospel... the first and most important work of God is just to believe. But how much of what we--forget about we--how much of what I do is just filler-fluffer costuming so that I can look the part, but avoid the heart of the matter, and that is sitting at Jesus's feet and believing in Him?
Bringing this thought back to the mimosa tree, I am reminded that the sweet fragrance I smelled today emanates from the essence of the fruit of the mimosa tree. I could walk past a fake mimosa tree that looked every bit the part--but it would be of completely no interest to me, and indeed I would barely notice its presence, because nothing would draw me to it. Same goes for a book about mimosa trees. But when I walk down the street, and the fragrance completely envelops me? That's captivating and compelling.
The stuff I do to talk about Jesus, or just try to be like a Jesus-y person, doing Jesus-y things that Jesus-y people do... a lot of that is window-dressing. That's masquerading as a fake mimosa tree and bearing absolutely no fruit. Or propping myself up as a book about mimosa trees. But what about actually doing the work of God - and believing in Jesus...learning about Him...allowing Him to change me...and becoming more like Him. I could see that leading to becoming the fragrance of Christ, both captivating and compelling.
Which will it be from this day forward?
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