Sweet Perfume

September 22, 2015

Sweet Perfume

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.

2 Corinthians 2:14

I am in a season of my life where many, many of my friends and neighbors are suffering. Some have encountered unexpected illness, another died in an automobile accident, and others have had an adult child die suddenly. I write this the morning after watching the latest round of political debates. Although some of the candidates tried to take an optimistic and hopeful road, the tone of the evening was set by the candidate who said he was gravely worried for the world his grandchildren were inheriting. What do we, the followers of Christ have to say in times such as these?

Maybe we don’t have to actually say much of anything. When I read Saint Paul’s words, “Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume” I am immediately drawn back to his opening lines of Second Corinthians: “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Recently, I attended a meeting of our Community Association. Before the meeting began, the leader came to me and said he would be announcing the tragic and sudden death of a very popular and much loved member of our community. He asked me to offer a prayer. At the appointed time, I asked those gathered to take a moment of silence to gather their own thoughts. I then thought about how I had personally experienced God’s comfort when Cheryl was diagnosed with cancer, and again just a few weeks later when I had my heart attack. As those thoughts washed over me, I prayed with the sincere hope that God was using me to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.