“Slider, you stink.”

“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 2:14-16

Let me give you a little background on this passage that I learned from a friend. Paul was painting a picture for the church of Corinth about the triumphal return of a victorious army from battle. The soldiers would stand tall and proud, marching back into town, after defeating their enemy. Victory was written all over their faces. Behind them, bound in ropes or chains were the prisoners captured in battle. They were the opposite of the victors in every way imaginable. With long faces, heads down, filthy and filled with hate and fear, they followed the very people that destroyed their way of life completely. What makes this story so interesting is Paul’s comment about Christians being a fragrance. The victorious soldiers would light tons of incense, and the beautiful smells would fill the air of everywhere they traveled. That smell could only mean one of two things to every person. To the soldier standing tall, it was the smell of life! To those in chains, the smell of death, because they knew they would eventually be killed. How can something be so very beautiful and intoxicating to one person, and so putrid to another?

Paul is telling you in this passage, you smell! That’s right, you smell people! The question however is how do you smell to the people around you? People will either love or hate the way you smell. Do you smell like Jesus, who offers life? Or do you smell like the rest of the world, not demonstrating with your lifestyle that God has changed your life? Do others observe you throughout the days and see Jesus, or do they see a religious person without life change?

How about God-how do you smell to Him? Do you smell like someone fully committed and submitted to Him, or someone just claiming to be? As Christians, our lifestyles should absolutely polarize people! They should see something so very different in us that they love what they see or they hate what they see, but in either case they are forced to feel one way or the other. Jesus told us people will hate us for our faith, something that has always held true, so don’t feel bad if people hate you because you smell like Christ. Some though will flock to your fragrance, in need of the same life you have inside. I pray people walk away from me and my fragrance knowing where I stand in life, and contemplating where they will stand in response. So, how do you smell this week?