This morning, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 blew my mind. There is so much to unpack in these few verses:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
I would like to primarily focus on this idea of the triumphal procession in verse 14. My ESV Study Bible told me that this is referencing lavish victory parades that the Romans had during this period, with the victorious leader in front and his captives trailing behind in defeat. I can imagine the people on the sidelines jeering the losers and being in awe of the greatness of the general. If Christ has captivated your heart, you are joining in this triumphal procession daily, (Christ being the victor over your old sef!) but the difference is your face now expresses great joy to the people who see us. This beautiful procession---our everyday intentional living, displaying God’s goodness---is like spreading a fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.
Romans 8:15 describes such a transformation:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Our spirits are still crying out, but now they are crying praises to the Father!
At the Passion conference in January, Louie Giglio shared a really good example of this showing-the goodness-of-God-on-your-face concept. At the end of Extreme Makeover Home Edition when the family is about to see their new house, and the bus that was obstructing their view is finally moved, the camera does not pan to the house as much as to the expressions on the family’s face. The family’s reaction---tears of joy---is what moves the viewers at home and reveals just how beautiful the new house is. In the same way, the world can’t really see Christ directly, so they should see the His beauty through how much His people are amazed.
Remember that we cannot fake awe. We cannot put on “radiance powder” on the days when joy from Jesus just doesn’t naturally radiate from us. Our aim should not be to grab the attention of everyone anyway. That’s what I like about John the Baptist. When his followers left him for Jesus in John 3, John the Baptist was ecstatic! He was losing glory and Christ was gaining it, which was delightful, for “He must increase, but I must decrease.” But if you really want to make a difference for the Kingdom, if you really want to know the heartbeat of the Father...spend time with Him!
True change does not start from circumstances then make its way to change your heart. In Mark 7:15, Jesus said that what goes inside someone isn’t what defiles him, but rather what comes out of him. The heart, not the external stuff, is what matters! We have seen this over and over again. You can take drugs away from an addict for a month, but he will still crave them, or at least he will still crave something to fill that void. The reason Jesus could hang out with really bad people and remain sinless is because His heart was pure. The hypocrites were sinning just by hanging out with each other because their hearts were far from God. This is not to say avoid Christians and instead go to bars all the time, but please understand me when I say that change happens from the inside out. The Spirit alone can transform our hearts, so ask Him to do so! Spend serious time in the Word! There is some kind of perfect balance between our effort and the Holy Spirit’s work, but to the best of your ability pursue Him wholeheartedly.
I often get discouraged at school because it seems like all my efforts from the past four years have been for nothing. However, I should instead focus on being obsessed with the LORD rather than being obsessed with what He is doing through me. He will cause everything to happen naturally in His time; my job is to trust in the LORD and do good (Psalm 37.) It is very rare to see people who have actually been changed by God; there are many who can pray extravagantly and who even read the Bible frequently, but God is still a 9 to 5 job for them. The world is hungry for a God that satisfies and consumes We must show the world that this is the God we know, or rather, this is the God who knows us.
However, this is very difficult to do. For example, I believe that God calls us to show His impact in our life by obeying our earthly masters as if we are doing it for Him. Colossians 3:22-24 changed my life and is my main motivation for completing busywork or doing chores. Show your teachers and parents, that God’s love is so great that it has caused you to obey them. They’re a lot more likely to see that God is real if He brings about a real change in His children. And if you are indeed His child, He should be bringing about a real change in you.
So may our lives be reactions to His greatness. May the world see Him on our faces. May He use us to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.
He is so worth it.
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
I would like to primarily focus on this idea of the triumphal procession in verse 14. My ESV Study Bible told me that this is referencing lavish victory parades that the Romans had during this period, with the victorious leader in front and his captives trailing behind in defeat. I can imagine the people on the sidelines jeering the losers and being in awe of the greatness of the general. If Christ has captivated your heart, you are joining in this triumphal procession daily, (Christ being the victor over your old sef!) but the difference is your face now expresses great joy to the people who see us. This beautiful procession---our everyday intentional living, displaying God’s goodness---is like spreading a fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.
Romans 8:15 describes such a transformation:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Our spirits are still crying out, but now they are crying praises to the Father!
At the Passion conference in January, Louie Giglio shared a really good example of this showing-the goodness-of-God-on-your-face concept. At the end of Extreme Makeover Home Edition when the family is about to see their new house, and the bus that was obstructing their view is finally moved, the camera does not pan to the house as much as to the expressions on the family’s face. The family’s reaction---tears of joy---is what moves the viewers at home and reveals just how beautiful the new house is. In the same way, the world can’t really see Christ directly, so they should see the His beauty through how much His people are amazed.
Remember that we cannot fake awe. We cannot put on “radiance powder” on the days when joy from Jesus just doesn’t naturally radiate from us. Our aim should not be to grab the attention of everyone anyway. That’s what I like about John the Baptist. When his followers left him for Jesus in John 3, John the Baptist was ecstatic! He was losing glory and Christ was gaining it, which was delightful, for “He must increase, but I must decrease.” But if you really want to make a difference for the Kingdom, if you really want to know the heartbeat of the Father...spend time with Him!
True change does not start from circumstances then make its way to change your heart. In Mark 7:15, Jesus said that what goes inside someone isn’t what defiles him, but rather what comes out of him. The heart, not the external stuff, is what matters! We have seen this over and over again. You can take drugs away from an addict for a month, but he will still crave them, or at least he will still crave something to fill that void. The reason Jesus could hang out with really bad people and remain sinless is because His heart was pure. The hypocrites were sinning just by hanging out with each other because their hearts were far from God. This is not to say avoid Christians and instead go to bars all the time, but please understand me when I say that change happens from the inside out. The Spirit alone can transform our hearts, so ask Him to do so! Spend serious time in the Word! There is some kind of perfect balance between our effort and the Holy Spirit’s work, but to the best of your ability pursue Him wholeheartedly.
I often get discouraged at school because it seems like all my efforts from the past four years have been for nothing. However, I should instead focus on being obsessed with the LORD rather than being obsessed with what He is doing through me. He will cause everything to happen naturally in His time; my job is to trust in the LORD and do good (Psalm 37.) It is very rare to see people who have actually been changed by God; there are many who can pray extravagantly and who even read the Bible frequently, but God is still a 9 to 5 job for them. The world is hungry for a God that satisfies and consumes We must show the world that this is the God we know, or rather, this is the God who knows us.
However, this is very difficult to do. For example, I believe that God calls us to show His impact in our life by obeying our earthly masters as if we are doing it for Him. Colossians 3:22-24 changed my life and is my main motivation for completing busywork or doing chores. Show your teachers and parents, that God’s love is so great that it has caused you to obey them. They’re a lot more likely to see that God is real if He brings about a real change in His children. And if you are indeed His child, He should be bringing about a real change in you.
So may our lives be reactions to His greatness. May the world see Him on our faces. May He use us to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.
He is so worth it.
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