Tic-Tac?
Over the last 7 weeks we’ve been going on an adventure of understanding our identity as saints not sinners. If you haven’t read the last 7 blogs, I encourage you to start with reading how you’re victorious in Christ, permanently forgiven, fully righteous, and unconditionally loved, yet not loved equally. How you’re a perfect 10 and already crowned as a royal priesthood in the Kingdom of God. These truths are so important for you to understand because proper humility is not thinking less of yourself, just of yourself less. Meaning, you should have a high view of yourself because Jesus has a high view of you! You are His most prized possession. All I have written over these past 7 weeks can be summed up with my life message: to help you believe you matter because you have an area of influence to impact.
This is why I even started this blog: to help equip, empower, and encourage you to not wait for ‘one day when’. To help you recognize the power and freedom you already possess because of Jesus. This power and freedom however, requires responsibility. Why is it important to recognize your responsibility? Because with power, you have the ability to either overpower or empower others. With freedom, you have the ability to either abuse it or flourish in it. The choice is yours so choose wisely!
In 2 Corinthians 2:15, Christians get labeled a ‘sweet aroma’ to God. It might be a weird word picture unless you do a cross reference of that word. The Greek word for ‘sweet aroma’ comes from a similar Hebrew word ‘bad odor’ used in Exodus 5:21 and Genesis 34:30. Follow me here…the word ‘bad odor’ gets translated in the Scriptures as ‘obnoxious.’ In these stories in Genesis and Exodus, the Israelites were complaining to Moses about how Pharaoh was working them like dogs because Moses kept trying to free them. The literal bad odor coming from their bodies were making them repulsive to be around. What Paul was trying to communicate to the church in Corinth by telling them they were a ‘sweet aroma’ to God was actually a challenge - He was saying don’t be a stench. Don’t be an obnoxious Christian. Don’t be the type of person who’s rude and dishonest. As Christians, we have two options: 1) we can either be so concerned with fighting for things that don’t matter that we don’t even recognize the wake of devastation we’re leaving behind us as non-Christians ask themselves why they would want the Jesus we serve (the obnoxious/’bad odor’ Christian) OR 2) we can live to empower others with love and mercy as our fragrance leaves a pleasant scent in the nose of people who don’t know Jesus (the ‘sweet aroma’). So the question remains: do you smell like Christ or do you need a tic-tac?