Did you know that you smell? No, I'm not talking about what you do with your nose and, yes, I should state it more delicately. You have an aroma, a fragrance, that you carry wherever you go. This fact occurred to me this past week while I was writing my weekly Bible study. While studying 2 Corinthians, I ran across these words from Paul:
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. And who is equal to such a task? (2 Corinthians 2:14-17).
Let's look at this principle in the light of your purpose and see if I can't help you determine exactly what fragrance you are.
PAUL'S FRAGRANCE
Paul's purpose was to take the gospel to the Gentiles (see Acts 26:9-19). When he proceeded to do that, there was a natural flow to his work. Paul went to an area, God helped him gather a crowd, some people decided to follow Jesus and a church was started. Before long, Paul left the church in charge of some elders and went on to another location. He stayed in touch by letter, sending emissaries and return personal visits.
I find this whole process remarkable. How was Paul able to do this? By his own admission in 2 Corinthians 2, he did it because he had a scent that either attracted or repelled Gentiles. He went to an area and, before long, everyone was taking sides for or against Jesus, for or against Paul. Some would say it was a gift, others a callling. I say it was his scent, which is another way of saying it was his purpose.
WHAT FRAGRANCE ARE YOU?
You've seen movies where dogs are dispatched to follow the trail of an escaped prisoner or missing person. The dogs smell a piece of clothing or blanket that the missing person used and off the dogs go, following the trail of that particular scent. The dogs know that each person gives off a unique odor, unless of course the dogs are searching for a dead body. Every dead body gives off the same scent, while every living one gives off a unique one. There's a spiritual lesson in there somewhere.
What are the implications to the fact that you smell, I mean, you have a fragrance. There are three that I can think of:
1. There is no use trying to adopt someone else's smell, someone else's purpose. You have your own.
2. You have nothing to do with this fragrance. It is a part of who you are. Accept it and make the most of it.
3. Others are often more aware of your smell, I mean your fragrance, than you are. What opportunities, situations or people regularly find you because they are attracted to who you are?
I work with many people who either don't like their fragrance or don't believe they have one. For years, I tried to wear pastoral cologne. It didn't work, at least not as I tried to function in the traditional Sunday morning role. When I stopped putting that cologne on, my true fragrance began to emerge. Today I speak and work with thousands more than if I had tried to stay a Sunday pastor. I stopped fighting my true scent and people have been drawn to, and some driven from, who it is that I was created to be.
So do you see now why I say that you smell? Are you running from it? Have you embraced it? Do you accept the fact that God made you just as you are, with tremendous strengths and some limitations? Don't spend another minute trying to adopt or wear a scent that isn't' right for you. Instead, embrace the fact that you give off an aroma of purpose that is first and foremost pleasing to God. And if it's good enough for God, shouldn't it be good enough for you? Have a great week!
*********************************************************************************************************************
1. Isn't it time that you invested in yourself? Later this week, I will send out a special email about my PurposePartner program. I urge you to read about it and then invest in something that will help you know your purpose and order your world.
2. I return to Africa on August 22 for five weeks, and I need your help. If you can contribute to my ministry there, please go to my site where you will receive instructions on how to give through Paypal (you can send using your checking account or a credit card). If these Memos and Bible studies help you, please give now to help me carry out my work in Africa.
3. Here is my schedule for the next three months. Let me know if you would like to meet for a purpose session when I am in your area. NOTE: I am going to have a purpose seminar in Johannesburg on Saturday, August 26. I will send a special message out later this week announcing the details. Please email me and let me know if you would like to attend.
August 7-11 -- Seattle, Washington
August 24-28 -- Johannesburg, South Africa
August 28-September 3 -- Harare, Zimbabwe
September 4-13 -- Israel
September 13-25 -- Harare, Zimbabwe
September 26-28 -- The Netherlands
November 4-8 -- England
Also, I am still leading a cruise retracing the steps of the apostle Paul from October 26-November 3. If you are interested in being part of that cruise, email me and let me know.
4. If you need to change your address to which this Memo is sent, hit the unsubscribe link below this automatic Feedblitz mail out. Then go to this link and enter your new email address in the box in the right hand column. You can add a gift subscription by going to the link and adding the new email address of the person you think would benefit from The Monday Memo.
And the archives of past Monday Memos through number 240 can still be located on my website. All others after that are located at my new Monday Memo blog.
5. If you would like to unsubscribe, just click the link below (if you receive this as an automatic message).
6. You can subscribe to automatically receive my regular blog posts by going to the site and entering your email below where it says "your email address." Once you do, you will receive a confirmation email and can also easily unsubscribe at any time.
7. We are well into our study of Second Corinthians, and I will send an installment out every week until we finish. These studies focus on four verses for every day of the week. When I send them out, I send out a week's worth of verses. I never make my studies technical; they are always practical and include questions to help you apply what you read every day. If you would like to subscribe, go to the site and enter your email address. I have all my previous studies available for free on my website.
May I provide a slight variation on your version?
I seem to deal with people who have suffered loss, transition and are in some stage of recovery on a regular basis. It's part of the fragrance I carry.
When we go through experiences, the fragrance of the circumstances add aroma to our lives. We become ‘seasoned’ with a wide variety of fragrances that add to the sum total of the fragrance we carry. We identify the emotional fragrances with experiences. Similar to a Thanksgiving dinner, (or a beating out behind the outhouse) it takes us to a place in time and we relive the experiences, whether joyful, or traumatic. The 'fragrance' of the experience triggers the emotional bank of the arsenal of our memories.
The fragrance is so profound and identifiable that we can detect it on someone else who is going through similar circumstances. It becomes a point of connection between them and us – a bridge if you will - that God provides for us the ability to identify with them. A common ground is established having gone through similar circumstances.
Not only can we can speak with compassion, but also actually move into the deeper place of empathy with them. Depending on our level of maturity, and where we are emotionally and spiritually, we identify with them and rail at the unfortunate circumstances, and angrily vent our outrage at whoever ‘they’ are that caused the hurt - at times even blaming God.
But alternatively we can comfort them with the same comfort that we have been comforted with as Paul suggests in 2 Cor. 1:4 ‘(It is God) who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.’
Our experiences, and the comfort of the Holy Ghost that we share, becomes the bridge that shortens their journey across their river of transition aiding them on their road of recovery.
So I wholeheartedly agree that we all stink - some of the fragrance of death death and some of life!
So here's to all of our fragrances being sweetened with His presence in our lives.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Bill | August 07, 2006 at 12:38 PM