There’s a daily phenomenon that occurs when I leave the office for home and dinner. As the car leaves the parking lot, hunger pangs, suddenly, out of the blue, begin their insistent panging. They whine their longing to be fed. It’s ridiculous! Seconds before, I wouldn’t even be thinking about dinner, but, Presto! For the next 30 minutes of my commute, that’s almost all I think about. Unfortunately, it’s not just day’s end. At any time of day, a wisp of something cooking can kick start the longings. Especially if the aroma reminds me of a food I love. And who can walk past a bakery where the smell of fresh-baked bread is wafting tantalizingly out the door and not be tempted to stop in and buy a loaf – just this once? Turns out, just writing this is enough to turn my thoughts to snacking. Pavlov could have used me as a test case!
“ . . . through us [God] spreads the beautiful fragrance of His knowledge to every corner of the earth. . . we are the sweet smell of the Anointed to God our Father.” 2 Corinthians 2:14b,15, VOICE. The Apostle Paul recognized the power of fragrance in spreading the Message of the Gospel. All the senses are awakened by the Holy Spirit as He works in us and through us. In a way, we could say we are Spirit-scented, carriers of His aroma, bearers of His alluring perfume, when we walk in step with Him. Just as one may spritz on some cologne before going out the door in the morning, and later be unaware of its lingering presence, others may take note and be curious about the (S)ource.
To the church at Philippi, Paul described how to live a life in step with the Spirit: “Fix your thoughts (wholly) on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8,9, NLT. Then, he says, we become fully aware that the God of Peace is with us. And maybe it’s then, when we’ve done the hard work and finally all wayward thoughts have been sent packing, that Spirit fragrance is released through us, causing those we encounter to sense a ‘hunger’ for what we have. An amazing thought! And what power loosed through us! St. Francis is cited for something like ‘Go everywhere preaching the Gospel. When necessary, use words.’ We get to ‘be’ the living Gospel in all the routines of our day.
Looking forward to seeing you ‘living Gospels’ tomorrow, 10 AM, 4 PM, FR. PD
Don graduated from Regent University in 1988 and moved to France for seven years, coming back to the US briefly to marry Sue in 1990. The work in France included working in a Christian School and helping plant a church before returning in 1995. He’s been pastor of Peninsula Vineyard since 1999. He enjoys counseling, especially married couples, traveling back to France (with Sue), reading, doing Sudoku puzzles and sleuthing out good, dark chocolate. Don serves as the senior pastor of the Vineyard Church Peninsula, in Newport News, Virginia.