SUNDAY LESSON, 1/31/21
WE ARE THE AROMA OF CHRIST
2 Corinthians 2:12-17
According to phycologists, the sense of smell is closely linked with memory; probably more than any of our other senses. A whiff of a particular fragrance, aroma or odor can often trigger events, people or other associations. For example, some time ago I took a whiff of an old empty Avon collectable bottle shaped like a car and the fragrance of Wild Country Cologne instantly brought back wonderful memories of my Dad when I was a boy.
In writing the Christians at Corinth, the Apostle Paul said that God “through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). As Christians we are to be the sweet aroma of Christ so that people with whom we come in contact (Christians and non-Christians alike) can take a big whiff and know that we have been with Jesus.
2 Corinthians 2:12-17
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
