an aroma redolent with life

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 

i thought this girl is so sweet

(NIVersion) “But thanks be to God, who leads us in triumphal procession in Christ through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death, to the other, the fragrance of life. ...”

The Message version expands it even more...

14-16 In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.

time for a good chat

16-17 This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No—but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.

"Without God’s gift of the will, we would be marvelous robots operated 

by a great cosmic puppeteer. 

There would be no capacity for love, for love must be chosen in order to be true."

The life we lead - is it a fragrance of love that brings life or a stench of death? This is the query of my heart as I ponder upon the Scriptures. How does a true gospel look like? What does love look like? Is it displayed only on occasional basis, say for instance Christmas? Gift-giving for example, is it material stuff that give value to the ones we love? There’s nothing wrong in gifts but if we overlook the real essence of gift-giving, do we always have to wait for an occasion to display how important people are in our lives?

Let us, be ourselves, a gift - whether a listening ear, a hand to hold for strength, a source of encouragement to those hearts growing faint, or simply be there especially when there’s a so-called language barrier. Because love is common language placed by God in the hearts of humanity. He put eternity in our hearts. 

this little one clung to me like a koala (i just met her)

Let’s choose love and continue to do so as long as the day is called day. This is what I want to learn more and live out in 2013. To let the aroma of Christ in me - an aroma redolent with life - saturate a place where there has been emptiness and counterfeit love.