For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15 NKJV).
Contributor:
Joy Bollinger
My husband and I love thick, creamy, homemade, chicken vegetable soup. I pre-cook the chicken, debone it, and return it to the pot. I add a variety of vegetables and seasoning to the chicken and broth and allow the ingredients to simmer, while tasting and adjusting periodically. As the ingredients simmer, a wonderful aroma wafts through the home. Thinking about this process, it occurred to me that faith develops much like a potpourri of flavors in a crockpot.
A crockpot is a depository for simmering ingredients over a long period of time, often at different temperatures. Likewise, God monitors our response to the “heat” of life’s challenges. For our responses determine the strength of our faith.
Generally, when a crockpot has reached a full boil and the food is cooked, it is turned to “low” for serving. Our spiritual temperature setting determines whether we are ready for serving others.
God’s love for us is so great, that He will not hesitate to turn the heat to “high” in order to get our attention. Just as we make adjustments in the flavor of a recipe, He will make adjustments when there is an imbalance in the flavor and fragrance of our life, because He desires that we, as Christ followers, carry and diffuse the fragrance of Christ throughout the world.
Those who cook know that when preparing a dish, it is necessary to taste and adjust the flavor until it is just right. Likewise, God corrects the “flavor” (character) in those who submit to His instruction and correction.
Correction means to amend a version of something or to rectify an error. Before receiving Christ as Savior, we were on the wrong path, walking in error. We made mistakes and choices that misdirected, misguided, and harmed us. As Christ followers, we require daily correction, because the flesh wants to revert to what it once knew and enjoyed.
Often, when cooking, the flavor might not be just right because of too much or too little of an ingredient or seasoning. However, we don’t throw the entire pot out because of a mistake or even a few mistakes. We keep working with the dish until it reaches the right consistency and flavor for serving. Equally, as we learn and grow in the things of God, He doesn’t become frustrated when we are not “seasoned” perfectly. He sees value in us and waits patiently until we become that balanced blend of strength, courage, obedience, wisdom, humility, mercy, forgiveness, and faith.
A flavorful soup is not made in minutes. The Christian life cannot be made overnight. The Lord painstakingly guides us in making gradual corrections until we carry the sweet and pleasing aroma of Christ to those being saved and those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15).
May we all submit to God, as His watchful eye monitors, and His steady hand stirs and tastes, until He is satisfied that we carry His fragrance. For God calls the world to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). And it is His aromatic fragrance emitting from us that causes the lost and hungry to eagerly taste of His goodness.
PRAYER: LORD, help me to be teachable and submit to You. Give me the gifts of perseverance and faith so that when life heats up with all of its challenges, I will draw closer to You and make the proper corrections, thereby, creating a sweet aroma in my life that reaches others. In Jesus name, amen.
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