The Smell of Love

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday.  After our services I had a few people comment on how nice the mark of the ashes smelled and they asked me what it was.  This year I used some spikenard anointing oil to mix in with the ashes.  I didn't realize what kind of an impact it would have, but after the second comment on the wonderful scent I started thinking.

The mark of the ashes is the symbol of the cross so what smelled beautiful was the cross.  Even though the cross is an ancient torture and death machine, for those people who have made the decision to follow Jesus, it is the symbol of

       love,

           forgiveness,

               life!

And as we walked around yesterday, those of us who had been marked were spreading that beautiful aroma of love everywhere we went.

But thank God!  He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession.  Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.
                                                                                       2 Corinthians 2:14

However, I don't think Paul intended for us to smell good from the mark of the ashes every day.  What we need is to allow the very fabric of our lives - the way we live, the way we deal with adversity, the way we conduct ourselves in all circumstances - to become the very smell of love to the world around us!

I hope I smell good today too.