A Life-Giving Perfume

"The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24, NIV).


People don't just need to hear about who Christ is in my life. They need to see Him alive in me. They don't need to just hear about His forgiveness, but they need to realize it in me. They don't just need to hear about His power, but they need to experience it through me. They don't just need to hear about His peace, but they need to see my calm reassuring faith in Him, no matter what the circumstances. They don't just need to hear about His joy, but they need to see His joy spring up from depths of faith in my life. They don't just need to hear of His love, but they need to feel His love in me.


If I love Him and live a surrendered life, people will see Him in me. They may accept or reject Him, but they will have experienced His love and witnessed His power. “Our lives,” Paul declares, “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” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16a, NIV). If I am His vessel, He does the work and brings all His power to bear to bring each life to Him. All I must do is be faithful to Jesus Christ who has called me to live His love. I pray to be a life-giving perfume, but it is not my place to save. It is my place to live the change He has wrought in my life.