I lived in a large metropolitan area in the U.S.A for over a decade until God called me home to Ireland. During those years I had many flights back and forth across the Atlantic to visit family, and at the end of every flight, the jet bridge was brought to the plane so the passengers could disembark directly into the airport terminal. On my flight to move “home”, the passengers were instead asked to use the stairs that were brought to the cabin doors. What greeted me was the sweet scent of home. It was springtime and the air was tinged with smells of blossoms, animals, silage (cut grass) and glorious fresh air. It was refreshing, invigorating and wonderfully inviting, almost like God was welcoming me home! Often we associate scents with memories and it’s a smell and memory that I will never forget.
In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 we read:
“But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?”
As the scent of a mother transfers onto her children when they snuggle with her, likewise does the fragrance of our Heavenly Father when we spend intimate time with Him in His presence. We then carry His fragrance throughout our homes, communities and workplaces. However, as a mother’s scent on her children fades over time as we get older, the only way to retrieve it is to get close to her again. The same is true with the scent of our Heavenly Father. We need to be spending intimate time with Him and often.
As followers of Jesus, fervently praying and believing for God to move in His power throughout Ireland, let’s also be committed to spending time with Him daily, soaking in His fragrance and carrying it with us into the world as we are led by the Holy Spirit. To a world that is becoming more stinking and polluted, and when many are uncertain and anxious, let’s live our lives powered by the Holy Spirit and in a way that is attractive, refreshing and welcoming to all we come across. Diffusing His scent and His love to those who so desperately need it, so that when we leave the room His fragrance lingers on.
Father, help me to intentionally spend time in Your presence each day, to soak in Your fragrance so that I can spread Your sweet, refreshing and comforting perfume everywhere I go. Lead me by Your Holy Spirit, and use me in the conversations and interactions that I have. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.