How do you smell? I’m sure you’ve probably had a shower this morning – or if you’re a mother of small children, hopefully you’ll get one sometime this week! 😉 But that’s not really what I’m talking about.
What sort of spiritual fragrance are you giving off?
Have you ever hugged someone wearing really “loud-smelling” perfume, then afterwards walked away reeking of it? Perhaps you regretted that embrace for the rest of the day!
Or a much nicer scenario: Maybe you’ve put on your husband’s jacket to warm up and the moment you wrapped yourself in it, you smelled his cologne, so strong and masculine, like him! The jacket smells like him because he’s worn it close to his body on a regular basis.
The same thing can happen to us as we spend time in the presence of the Lord. By being close to Him on a continual basis, we can become “fragranced with His presence.”
Let’s look at a verse from the Song of Solomon. Remember that this is a story of marital love, but it is also an allegory of God’s love for Israel and Christ’s love for the Church (His Bride). So, when we read of the man (or bridegroom), we can apply those words to Jesus:
Song 1:3 (GNT) There is a fragrance about You, the sound of Your name recalls it. No woman could keep from loving You.
Jesus has a fragrance about Him. And Ephesians 5:2 (AMP) speaks of His fragrance: Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us, and it is a sweet fragrance to God the Father. The New Living Translation says it is “like sweet perfume to Him.”
2 Cor. 2:15-16 (NLT) says, Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God… a life-giving perfume.
As we spend time in the Word, fellowshipping with the Lord in prayer, being obedient to His will, and walking in love to the people around us, we become more and more like Him. We pick up that sweet fragrance of Christ which is a life-giving perfume to others.
When we live our lives in union and communion with Him, we become fragranced with His presence. People around us may not realize that fragrance with their physical sense of smell, but they will sense His sweet presence and peace emanating from us.
We will radiate a confidence, an assurance, a peacefulness, a joy – even in the midst of trials and tribulation. Why? Because we’ve been in His presence. We know He will care for us and provide for us no matter what. We don’t have to worry or be afraid. We know from being in His presence that He loves us and will always be faithful to us.
Determine to spend time in His presence so that you will be a sweet perfume to the Lord and to those around you. Become fragranced with His presence!
Hi there,
This is such a great post about the fragrance of Christ. I love the way you describe how if we spend time in God’s presence we will exude the fragrance of Christ that others will notice. There is so much truth in this a real challenge to spend more time in the presence of God.
My husband once smelt a physical manifestation of the fragrance of Christ – an amazing blessing!
Linked here from The Beauty in His Grip. Blessings.
Wow! That is amazing, Mel. How wonderful! Blessings to you, Alisha
Lovely. What a beautiful idea that being in the presence of the Lord will leave me smelling like him! Thanks for the post.
Thank you for visiting, Helene! Blessings to you!
Lovely post Alisha, I too want my Lord’s presence to infuse into my heart and mind, leaving a sweet fragrance of His love.
Amen, Anita! That’s beautiful!
Dear Alisha
This is so true! We can strive endlessly to have the fragrance of our Lord Jesus, yet to no avail. Only as we abide in Him daily, does He sort of wrap us with His sweet smelling Presence. The name if Hus fragrance is called love!
Blessings from IntentionalMe.
Mia
“The name of His fragrance is called love!” <-- Love that, Mia! Blessings, friend!
How true this is…the more we spend in God’s presence, the more His fragrance will rub off on us.
Yes! And we all need to spend much more time in His presence, don’t we? 🙂 Blessings, Alisha
Hi! My life verse is Ephesians 5:2 and your message “Jesus has a fragrance about Him.” truly is how He reminds me of His presence. A few years ago I was doing some urethane work in our laundry area and really affected my sense of smell. It has been frustrating as I don’t have a strong sense of smell now. God has a sense of humor though…He brings a sweet aroma to me quite often to remind me of His presence. Its quite strong and very often not discernible BUT – I am reminded of His presence and that very moment! God bless you