Aroma

I have been playing basketball with a group of men a couple times a week (don't worry about my ankles, I never really leave the ground). I also have a meeting at 8 am once a week with the pastors of churches in the Hillsboro area. The meeting comes right after the game and 2-3 of us have been playing basketball. We are temporarily meeting in a very small room and often fill it. You can begin to imagine our problem. The aroma of our prayers and praise is pleasing to God but I am pretty sure the aroma from the room might be discouraging attendance. It may be the reason we are moving to a large spacious fellowship hall next week.

"But thanks be to God who always leads us in truimphal 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. And who is equal to the task?" 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.

Hopefully, I stink (yeh, I haven't played in a while) more playing basketball with a group of guys who are observing my Christian witness than I do in the little meeting room with the other pastors. I try to play and speak in such a way as to bring honor to Christ and thus become a sweet smelling aroma of life to those who will recieve Him and a warning of the stench of death to those who will not. I must check my heart to make sure that I am sincere, like a man sent from God (2 Cor. 2:15), so that the aroma I put off will be sweet, leading to life, not bitter, leading to death. How I respond to being fouled could make a difference in someone's eternal future. What applies to how I play basketball also applies to how I do anything else. I am challenged to sincerely speak the gospel and to live it as well.

I pray that our aroma from the way we live life will be a sweet smelling sacrifice to God and lead others to knowing Him.