A Stench or a Fragrance?

One of the things I love the most about spring is the fact that I am able to go running in the pre-dawn hours again (I have a general policy to never run in temperatures below 40 degrees, and in the winter, it’s rarely over 40 that early in the morning.)  Now, right off the bat I’ve lost some of you because in one sentence I equate great love with running and pre-dawn hours! Two things:  One, I have always been a morning person and in fact, my favorite time of day when I have the greatest clarity and inspired thinking is between 4 and 7am.  Two, as I tell my husband, running is a lot cheaper than therapy!  Besides, I’m not sure if what I do would be considered authentic running…perhaps the best way to describe the difference would be to compare a Ferrari’s speed and build with that of a Model T Ford.  In case you’re confused, I’m not the Ferrari. 

But lest I digress any further – once my son leaves the house for school at 6:15, I leave right behind him to enjoy a pre-dawn run.  I wish you could experience with me the pleasure I feel as I hear the joy-filled sounds of the morning – the birds cannot contain themselves, they are loud and happy – shouting out to God their gratitude for another day. And to watch the stars slowly fade out as the sun begins to rise and formally announce the day to all the world, splashing the sky with all kinds of wonderful colors – one cannot help but remember the words, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it….wonderful are Thy works, O Lord, and my soul knows it very well.” Indeed, He makes beautiful things – creation testifies to that every single morning. 

However, there is a regular occasion where the morning run proves challenging, and that is trash day.  Most of the time I forget it until I am struck by a foul odor. The stench of decay and rot seems to cling to me – I can’t get away from it. And then it hits me as I look and see rows of trash lining the streets. I am going to encounter this stench no matter where I go.  Welcome to trash day in Suburbia, USA.

But here’s the best part – somewhere along the way I catch the scent of something that is far more pleasant than the unpleasantness of the garbage.  I am compelled to discover the source of such a lovely aroma.  And then I see it – a large bush of honeysuckle about four houses down.  Later, I catch another intoxicating fragrance – and it’s roses.  Then Iris.  Then hyacinth.  Then lavender.  These scents were a stark contrast to the pungency of the garbage.  Rather than repel and disgust, they attracted and pleased.  Rather than run away, I ran toward.  And in the pre-dawn hours, you are running by faith and not by sight – so you smell long before you see!  For me, each fragrance was a welcomed treasure in the midst of a bunch of trash!  Turns out, what I remembered the most was not how bad the stench was, but how lovely the flowers smelled.  It was fascinating to me that the sweet fragrances of just a few flowers could overpower an entire row large trash cans filled with rot and decay! 

As I pondered this, I remembered a few verse from Scripture penned by our good friend Paul – they are,

“Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” (Eph 5:2)

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…” (2 Cor 2:14-15)

Without going into great theological detail, these verses offer us a glorious invitation.  We can be a sweet aroma of life in this world because of Christ’s sacrificial death for us!  And what’s the risk anyway?  I mean, Paul writes that God always leads us in triumph in Christ.  The last time I checked, always means…well, always – every single time!  Without exception.  To me, those are really good odds!  And don’t we want our lives to have the ability to draw the people around us to Christ?  Don’t we want to be like that honeysuckle bush – overpowering the stench of rot and decay in this world so that people notice and want to find the source?  If Christ’s sacrifice was considered a pleasing aroma to God, then why not die to ourselves so that we, too, might live a life filled with the fragrance of His love? 

Ladies, we live in a world where every day is trash day.  God’s invitation to us is to follow our Savior, who leads us in triumph, and let the sweet aroma of His life flow from us into every single place we inhabit. 

My verses this time around are the verses from 2 Corinthians, and it will be my prayer for all of us these next couple weeks.  May we be confident of the triumph we have in Christ and let it cause our lives to overwhelm the world with the overpowering fragrance of His love!