Are you an enticing aroma?

2 Corinthians 2:15-17

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 such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

There are a couple of aromas that always are enticing to me.  I love the smell of good BBQ or pizza cooking.  Those aromas always entice me to remember great times with people and moments when life has been good.  And then there are the aromas which are repellent to me.  The smell of a stockyard at breakfast time comes to mind.

As Christians we are called to entice and draw people outside of God's Kingdom into the Kingdom.  We do this by having the enticing aroma of God.  A Godly aroma is one that invites, accepts, nourishes, hopes, cares for and lifts up the other.  We are to have the aroma of heaven.  When we do that we draw people to God's Kingdom.

Unfortunately many times as Christians we put off the aroma of a stockyard at breakfast time.  I know there have been times when I have been unkind, lacked attention to other people's needs, a lack of kindness, or simply listened to the person I have been with.  And worse than all of those behaviors I have been arrogant and self-righteous.  Those are not the aromas of heaven but of hell.

In New Rebellion Handbook: A Holy Uprising Making Real the Extraordinary in Everyday Life the following are the Top Ten Evidences of Heaven's Aroma on Earth.

10.  Hope in the midst of cynicism.

9.  Contentment in the midst of adverse circumstances.

8.  Genuine care for others in a self-centered world.

7.  Willing sacrifice of all the world holds dear for unseen rewards.

6.  Unified community in an angry, fractured culture.

5.  Courage to gamble all of life upon a spiritual.

4.  A tenacious joy that is unexplainable in worldly terms.

3.  Supernatural healing of body, mind and spirit.

2.  Love for enemies

1.  Forgiveness

New Rebellion Handbook: A Holy Uprising Making Real the Extraordinary in Everyday Life