What Smell Do You Give Off?

Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

The word sacrifice stands out as I read these verses. What is sacrifice? It consists of two things: a) something has to be slaughtered; b) something has to go up. When you read the Bible, in the Old Testament times, when people offered a sacrifice, "it" had to be killed and then burned by fire. I'd like to focus on the part where something has to go up.

I can picture charcoal, like the ones used for bar-b-q cooking. When the coal is lit on fire, the smoke that is produced will give of a unique smell. Some like it, some don't. In most cases, its an odor that you can live without. I can also picture a beautiful candle. Before it burns, its potential of filling that environment with an inviting and comforting aroma is endless. It starts to burn and the smoke produced simply can carry that aroma to fill it's environment.

First, would you burn charcoal inside your home or a candle outside your home? It wouldn't make sense to fill my home with the stench of burnt charcoal. It wouldn't make sense to waste the potential of a candle burning outside in the open air. God doesn't want to smell the stench coming from our lives. He rather burn it off by the power of blood of Jesus and let the stench of burnt sin be whisked away by the winds of the open air. In similar fashion, God delights in and abides on the praises of His people. Let our sacrifices of praise be a sweet fragrance captured in the presence of God.

Second, if we were in the place of the charcoal or candle, when our lives get lit up by fiery situations, what smell do we give off? When an unexpected event occurs, how do we react? When a driver cuts us off on the road, how do we respond? When we lose something precious to us, what's our reaction? When we get accused wrongly of actions, what do we do? When our children does not listen to us the first time, where do we go? However our lives might get lit up on fire or we get burned, our response will emit either a stink or a fragrance.

A stink repels people, favor, kindness, etc... A fragrance attracts those and more. God is expecting a sweet aroma of worship and praise to reach His presence from us who were created to worship Him. We have that privilege because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. He was slaughtered on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, healing, victory, and eternal life. He gave off a beautiful fragrance when He went thru the fiery times of His life by being a blessing to all of humanity. Praise Him in the good and bad times. Praise Him in the middle of tears and laughs. Praise Him at all times. Do we give off a stink or a fragrance?

Enjoy The Ride,

Cecil