thoughts

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and 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.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16

have you ever really thought about that before? we are the aroma of Christ... i smell like Jesus! everywhere i go, every room i enter... his smell lingers in my place. i find that so powerful and amazing. in some sense, we could say that all sub-consiously know that we are Christians because they smell Jesus in us. and then it makes me sad. how can such a beautiful fragrance smell like the stench of something so hard and harsh as death to those who are perishing? i was reading in 2 timothy chapter 3 and 4 today... check out what it says:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. ... I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction.
-2 Timothy 3:1-5 and 4:1-2

i am baffled by the realness of this verse. and i think that i could even fall in that catergory of people. yet, my heart breaks for those that "have a form of godliness, yet deny it's power". these are my friends, my coworkers, the people i see at walmart and the gas station... they know "of" God, they may even talk about him or go to church, yet they haven't experienced his life-changingness in their lives and therefore deny his power. my desire is to live in such a way that i will not be a stench of death to these lost people, but that i would be an enticement... a smell that makes them want more of it in order that they may encounter Christ for real in their lives. preach always... in season and out of season... many times not with words, but with actions.