May the mumbling commence!
I admit: I’m a classic rock fan. As I read from 2 Corinthians chapters two and three, I couldn’t help but think of the song called “That Smell” by the southern fried rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd. For those of you who know the song, yes, I do realize that it is about drug abuser smelling bad. But remember this loose connection when you read a few verses near the end of chapter two:
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. (Verses 14-16a)
“Ooh that smell. Can you smell that smell? The smell that surrounds you.” When I read this passage from 2 Corinthians I cannot help but wonder which smell is smelled by which group of people that Paul spoke about. Do the ones being saved smell the reek of death? Or do those perishing smell the reek of death? I am not so clear on the answer to these questions. I believe I can make an argument for either way without looking first at the Greek. Maybe I’ll make a mental note to ask my wife, who is much stronger with language skills. Either way one group of people smell the reek of death while the other group smell the fragrance of life.
And I also wonder if the smells are that different and that it’s only the perspectives that change the aroma. I think about this from a city boy’s perspective. When I am near a pig farm or cattle farm or chicken coop, and I smell the animals I think the smell reeks. When I am near a newly fertilized field, I think the smell reeks. But, to those that have grown up on the farm, those smells are fresh country air and they smell of an honest way of making a living. Such is the case when we speak about Jesus and live a Christ-like life.
It’s no wonder that verse sixteen ends with the question, “Who is up to such a task?” To some people we smell badly; to some we smell like the most wonderful fragrance. What a task to reach out to people! We will never know for certain which kind of person we are approaching!
Now I will leave the olfactory sense behind. (But those who think that Americans are largely visual should think harder about situations such as those contained in the previous paragraphs.) Paul moves on in the third chapter of 2 Corinthians to speak about visual marks of a Christ-like person. Paul references Moses and his veil. Read the passage below:
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (Verses 7-18)
So, when we step into mission, we smell like who knows what to the people we reach out to. When we embrace mission neither do we know how people will see us. We may be a glorious presence to other people because we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ or we could be too bright to look at. Because sometimes the gospel of Good News in Christ is veiled – “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. (2 Cor. 4:3)”
So we are totally dependent upon God – Totally Relying On God (FROG). We do not choose when our efforts will be fruitful or which will be fruitless. It is the Spirit of God that works through us that chooses.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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