Victoriously Stinky and Fragrant All at the Same Time!

 

“And I got it, thank God! In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance.  Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation — an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No — but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.” 2 Cor 2:14-17 from THE MESSAGE

The on-going saga goes like this: Squirrel out-smarted the cage, squirrel out-smarted the rat traps, but the squirrel did not escape the gopher poison!  That’s right people poison was the last line of defense and it had to be done!  So, one might ask “How do you know the squirrel is dead?”  Well, four days after the feast of peanut butter mixed with “special” gopher food was placed out in the garage, with no apparent sightings or sounds of the squirrel, this smell started creeping over my closet/bathroom area.  As day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31….and now day 67 has passed the smell came in as weak, then strong, then stronger, then strongest, and is now creeping backward.  I guess you can say over the past 9 weeks I have experienced the stench of a rotting corpse.  If you have ever been in the same room as a cadaver (i.e. for an anatomy or medical class), walked by a dead animal, or perhaps had a rotting animal in your attic you know what I’m talking about as far as the stench.  Febreeze – tried it – didn’t work.  Air purifier – tried it – didn’t work.  Deodorizer – tried it – didn’t work.  Kirklands’ fragrance oil – smells so delicious, but no, didn’t work.  This leaves me------------>  : (  Turns out Mr. Squirrel breathed his last in a location impossible to reach and remove it.  How do I know that? I sent my little brother up in the attic to find the creeper.  But all I got out of that was him crashing through the ceiling in the closet of the guest bedroom making about a 4ftx4ft hole and no apprehension of the decomposing squirrel.  This leaves me---------------> :’(.  So, the conclusion:  I must continue to wait it out. 

So, as I look back on these past 9 weeks of the most horrible stench that I must wake up to, come home to, and go to sleep to, I ask the Lord WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???!!!  And then the above scripture came to mind and I say “Gee, thanks Lord for making this passage so real and applicable to me but you really didn’t have to!”  So, here it goes…

Do circumstances around you sometimes give you the feeling of being conquered, uncomfortable, that you’re coming to an end of a battle and it will end in defeat?  In doing some research to the above passage I came to find out that before Paul wrote this second letter to the Corinthians, that he was in a place of what seemingly appeared that his plans were falling apart.  He couldn’t find Titus, his letter deliverer.  He didn’t know what was going on in Corinth and how they received his first letter to them (this letter was a confrontational letter regarding their misconduct). He had open doors of ministry in Troas but didn’t have a peace to stay because he was distracted with concern for the Corinthians.  There were a lot of unanswered questions and he was in that place of not knowing what he should do next as he was seeing his plans weren’t going according to plan.  There was that common feeling that we have sometimes when we feel like we’re in limbo.  So what do you do when you’re in this place? Like Paul, you keep walking with God, keep being faithful with what God has entrusted you with, trusting Him, and simply waiting for His plan to unfold. 

When we come to this passage in 2 Corinthians 2, the fog of unknowns and feelings of defeat cleared as Paul now sees how God wanted it all along.  Paul relates it to the picture of the “Roman Triumph” the special tribute that was given by Rome to their conquering generals.  If the commander in chief won a victory over the enemy he was given a processional which included him riding in a golden chariot surrounded by his officers.  Also involved with this processional would be all the captive enemy soldiers and the Roman priests who would carry burning incense to pay tribute to the victorious army.  The procession would end with the captives entertaining the people by fighting wild beasts (The Bible Exposition Commentary/Wiersbe).   As Paul was giving this illustration he brings up how we as believers are the fragrance of Christ that diffuses to every person we come in contact with.  But, notice with me, how he makes the point that our fragrance affects different people in different ways.  When the people of Rome could smell the fragrance of the burning incense as it filled the city streets it meant to them the smell of victory, triumph, life, and rejoicing, but to the captive enemy it meant defeat and death.  As children of God we are a part of the victory that has already been won through Jesus Christ.  “We do not fight for victory, we fight from victory” (Wiersbe).  The victory has already been won by Jesus Christ so we can walk victoriously knowing that He is in full control, sovereign, He sees our circumstances, He sees the parade from the above view - beginning to end – and calls us to trust Him and walk in triumph with Him!  Paul ends this chapter with thankfulness to God for leading him (not according to Paul’s plans but God’s plans) and the realization that even when you feel (ßbe careful feelings are very deceptive!) defeated God is still working and is still opening new doors of opportunity to diffuse the gospel through the fragrance of your life…to those who are being saved and to those who are perishing.