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What are your favorite aromas? Maybe it’s a food or a flower. Perhaps it’s a fresh breeze on a warm sunny day. Aromas boost our spirits and spark wonderful memories. But did you know that God has a favorite aroma? God’s favorite aroma is the fragrance of sacrifice.
In Ephesians 5:2, Paul told the church:
“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Ephesians 5:2, English Standard Version
Christ’s death was the final, ultimate sacrifice. But the Bible also says God’s people are to offer their lives as a living sacrifice.
Our lives should be like the priest’s burnt offerings of the Old Testament—“an aroma pleasing to the LORD.” These aromas pleased God because of what they represented—sacrifice and offering. Your life is a pleasing aroma when you obey His commands and devote your life to serving God and others.
Our lives can be a fragrant offering to God only if we are living a life pleasing to Him. Think back to your favorite aromas. Often, our favorite smells are ones that represent life itself. Maybe it’s a red rose or a field of green grass.
Those stand in contrast to our least favorite aromas, which often represent death and decay, like a dumpster or a landfill. God wants your aroma to represent what is pure and good. Our lives are to be like a field of fresh flowers that can be smelled from a long distance away. When we walk into a room, people should notice that we are different from the world.
In nature, good aromas often require two things: life and growth. If something is dead and decaying, it usually stinks. The same is true in the spiritual realm. For your life to be a fragrant offering to God, you need to be growing in your faith.
The Ephesians during Paul’s time lived in a morally bankrupt city where the people worshippind false gods were worshipped and sexual immorality ran rampant. Paul knew the church would face temptation. He also knew they could be a sweet-smelling aroma of Christ to God and their community.
Dear Father. Thank You for calling me Your child. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Father, I want to be a pleasing aroma to You. I want to live a life of sacrifice for You and for others. I want to walk in love like Christ. Help me to love like You love. Guide me. Teach me. It’s in Jesus’ name that I pray. Amen.
Listen now to the short version of this Abide meditation, “A Fragrant Offering,” based on Ephesians 5:2. Let God speak to your heart about the pleasing aroma you are to Him.
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