Thanking God for My Smell?

But thanks be to God who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; - to the one an aroma from death to life, the other an aroma from life to life.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

For what do I give thanks?

Blessings (this is fairly obvious, and goes without saying, really)

Salvation

The greatness of God

Death’s victory

Victory in the process of living (even in the now…) - The Win!

My aroma: J  (and I’m not talking about the Estee Lauder kind)

The first picture that came to my mind when I wrote the word “aroma” brought a smile and a chuckle.  During the years that Bay and I were dorm parents at Rift Valley Academy in Kenya, I used to get a good laugh watching the guys in our dorm.  Inevitably, they’d come in late from some sports practice, and have to rush to dinner before the cafeteria closed.  Their answer to their sweat-stink was not a rapid shower, but to run upstairs, douse themselves in some kind of cologne, and sprint out the door.  Cologne only covers stink for so long…  This passage doesn’t refer to the temporary aroma that covers a bad odor.  It refers to an inside out aroma that draws others close.

Last weekend I made a quick run to my favorite antique mall.  I arrived as the doors were opening, and before long the aroma of bacon frying inside the little deli permeated the entire building.  Even though I had eaten breakfast prior to my arrival, it wasn’t long before that smell had my stomach growling and my mouth watering.  I was a classic example of Pavlov’s dog, simply reacting to an aroma. 

That’s the type of reaction we should receive to the glory of Jesus, Christ in me, the hope of glory.  An aroma of peace.  An aroma of love.  An aroma of joy.  An aroma of hope.  Of patience.  Of kindness.  Of gentleness.  Of self-control.  An aroma that causes others to react in hunger for what I have that they want, in spite of my life circumstances.  Those perishing are drawn from death to life.  Those who have life, desiring deeper life. 

That aroma seems to be connected to the “knowledge of him”…The more I know him, the more his aroma is released in me.  Perhaps that is why Paul fervently prayed, “Oh that I might know him and the fellowship of his suffering.” 

Knowing you, Jesus

Knowing you.

There is no greater thing…

You’re my all; you’re the best; you’re my joy, my righteousness…and I love you, Lord.

Know Him.  Release a sweet smell. People come close.  Recognize it as Jesus in me.  Want the same. Find life. Thankful for the possibility.

Giving Thanks in Life

But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ….

(2 Cor. 2:14a)

Last week we began exploring the different arenas for which we have cause to give thanks and we discovered the first road of thanks led us to “death.”  Exploring another avenue, we discover another category of victory, and the motivation behind the gratitude is that God, in Christ, ALWAYS leads us to triumph.  I find myself asking this question often:  Really? ALWAYS?   While last week we discovered victory over the grave, this week God graciously offers us consistent victory on the journey of life.  I sit here exploring this statement of fact thinking I haven’t ever fully capitalized on this promise.

I know a lot of folks looking for triumph.  I am one of them.  Over the years I’ve come to realize that I’ve often wished for a magic wand that would accomplish the “win” quickly without the work.  This passage assures me the win will come, but it’s a process of following Jesus to get there.

A little over a week ago, while on a trip to South Africa, I woke one morning following a series of three very haunting dreams.  I won’t go into detail, other than to say, each of these dreams led me to a realization about parts of my life with which I continually wrestle: fear (especially of the unknown), placing too high of expectations on others, an inability to “let go” and give God room to work, and anger.  Then I read the above passage.  Give thanks – right now.  Even though the victory hasn’t been delivered, it’s assured.  God faithfully and always comes through to bring us the win.  There’s one other key to finding personal triumph (besides thanksgiving):  follow the leader. 

I appreciate the fact that the Lord leads the way.   Since he’s out in front, he takes the brunt of the battle.  He takes the initial blows, where the fight is the most brutal, and the bloodiest. He wars against the very things we fight against – our own nature and the unseen world (see Colossians 2:15).  In fact, he’s already made the charge and prepared the way.  I just follow his lead – walk in his steps – and submit to his direction.  If I give him that place of authority, and quit trying to charge ahead in front of him, I have a guarantee of victory over the things I struggle with the most.

What a promise!  What grace! 

Yes – overwhelming gratitude:  for the win and the warrior!

Giving Thanks Even Unto Death

 Recently, another celebrity passed away too soon, too young.  The world mourned the loss of a great talent; the TV media consumed the hours with speculation of cause and details surrounding the preparation of, as well as, the entire funeral (one news station stopped a critical political interview just so we could see the plane descend from the night sky as it brought the body back home).  The world seemed to halt at this passing.  Grief consumed Americans.  Will there really be life and entertainment after the fact? 

Yet, we will all die.  This truth has certainly become more verified as each birthday passes, and the more frail this earthly tent gets.  However, as I study passages of Scripture around my theme of gratitude, my mind is shifting with a new paradigm of thought regarding death…well, the death of those in Christ Jesus.

Here are Paul’s words concluding a lengthy expose on death:

…but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

(read 1 Cor. 15:50-58).

Paul seems to say, “There’s no need to mourn.  Instead, give thanks!”  This is contradictory to all we know.  Oh, we’re willing to focus on celebrating the life -absolutely!  Yet, the last thing we “feel like” doing when a loved one dies is expressing sincere gratitude for death, or living out of a thankful spirit.  It’s difficult to ask a mourner to have a pervading spirit of thanksgiving.  Yet this is what Paul is suggesting should be our mantra at death.

Don’t get me wrong; Paul’s not saying to stuff the feelings.  Death brings grief, loneliness, worry about the future, and, often, anger.  Paul’s not telling us that we should numb out and not process these emotions.  What he is telling us is that in spite of our loss, we can have an internal heart of appreciation – for what the Lord gives the believer at death!

Here’s what:  1) those in Christ are now in a position to inherit the Kingdom of God.  Usually, it’s the ones left behind that are given an inheritance.  But in God’s economy, it’s backwards.  When you die, you receive the gift – the place Jesus has gone to prepare, our marriage to the bridegroom (Jesus), and the joyous celebration feast.  I think of all the young women on our campus at ACU about to be married – the sparkle in their eyes as they prepare for their upcoming day shines their enthusiasm.  That is our attitude toward death – a marriage takes place.  This is real victory!

2) This body (that tent I just mentioned) is changed from perishable to imperishable, from mortal to immortal, from corruptible to incorruptible.  Praise the Lord!  This is real victory!

3) Jesus swallowed up sin and the grave – the sting, the power, and the consumption of death has been abolished.  Death is now LIFE!  This is real victory!

This Do in Remembrance

We can’t talk about entering into communion with the Lord without at least turning to the New Testament accounts, Jesus’ own word’s and Paul’s writing regarding the Eucharist.  There are three statements that stand out (well, to me, at least0.

On the night Jesus served the Passover meal with his disciples, he said, “I greatly/earnestly desire to eat this...before I suffer.”

Paul’s words, “On the night in which he was betrayed…he gave thanks…” 

Then Jesus broke the bread and offered the cup and said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” 

I am struck by the intentionality of Jesus instituting a ceremony of thanksgiving in lieu of what he knew would follow.  God, the Son, fully understood what was about to happen: the fulfillment of the Passover, the final slaughter and sacrifice of the Lamb of God whose blood would cover the sin of our homes (hearts) one last time for all time.  Here’s what our Savior was giving thanks for in the midst of that moment:

God on trial

Rejection and betrayal

Humiliation

Beatings

Scorn and mocking

Sneers and derision

Spit

Crown of thorns

The weight of sin he would carry

Condemnation and crucifixion

His own Father turning his back on his only Son

Helplessly watching his own mother’s suffering

Weakness

Hopelessness

Broken heart

Wrestling of acceptance to final resignation

Entombment

Facing hell in the face

He received the gift – the black box with the black bow of grimness – with thanks!  I know my heart – a little annoyance and I complain; a little frustration and I whine; a bit of rejection and I’m angry…  But, in the stillness of my heart, if I really stop to listen, I hear these words crying out:  “This do in remembrance of me.”  This what?  Give thanks.  Live thanks…and commune.  This do – and rise above!  This do – and be well!

Every Good and Perfect Gift

I can’t seem to move past the concept of giving thanks and the connection to Eucharist (communion).  Here’s the full definition of Eucharist:  a sacrament of thanksgiving, an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual divine grace, a thing of mysterious and sacred significance.

Of course!  When we experience grace, the undeserved goodness of God’s hand, a gift of pure unconditional love, we’ve been invited into a moment of mystery.  Anything that blesses us, or continues to bring us into complete wholeness (the present-tense of salvation) is a gift:  a thing of mysterious and sacred significance.  That “thing” is holy – no matter how it comes wrapped (whether in a bright cheerful package that makes us smile, or a black box topped with a black bow of grimness).  That moment is God’s divine, personal touch on my very mundane, normal life.  If I recognize it, I have to pause before the sacred, for the Divine has chosen to enter into my world. 

In that recognizable moment, how can I not give thanks (eucharisteo)?  How can I not respond as the one leper who returned to Jesus, and bend low, to loudly, excitedly, and vibrantly, glorify Him and give grateful applause for all he’s done? For when I do, I truly experience Communion with him.

Question:  How has the Divine entered your world over the past week?  Do you see him in the big, obvious blessings – but have not learned to acknowledge him in the small and the insignificant? Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights.  May I highly recommend keeping a "blessings book?"  The more we see our blessings, the more our hearts fill with cheer...and, as we all know, a cheerful heart is VERY GOOD medicine!

Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you ___________________!
Deuteronomy 8:18a

Your Faith Has Made You Well!

Just a reminder that last week, if it wasn’t clear to you, it became clear to me that sometimes, as Christians, we don’t truly see God’s hand in the giving of all we’ve received.  The story of the ten lepers made that abundantly obvious.  Who turned back?  The Samaritan!  The foreigner!  Where were the “religious” ones?  The temple-goers?  The God-fearers?  The ones who should have seen God in the miracle of the moment?  They were on their way to the priest, excited to be lawful again.  Maybe they were thankful, but they were not deeply grateful.  There’s a difference. 

...And there’s more to this story.  As the Samaritan recognized his healing had to have come from the God of the Universe, he offered a sacrament...an outward and visible sign of his inner blessing.  That’s the Oxford dictionary’s meaning for the word Eucharist.  “Eucharisteo” is the Greek word for giving thanks.  I love that.  It says when we express deep gratitude to the Father of Lights from whom every good gift originates, we are offering to him a sacrament of love (read James 1:17).

...And there’s even more to the story.  When this foreigner turned back to offer his eucharisteo to Jesus, God-in-flesh extended his great gift.  And (Jesus) said to him, “Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well (Luke 17:19).”  Wait a minute, wasn’t the man already well?  Hadn’t he already been healed?  Outwardly, yes.  But again, we must look at the deeper Greek meaning (can you tell I love word studies?).  This word means to be made safe, to protect, to deliver, to heal, or to make whole.  It is used specifically of salvation from eternal death, sin, punishment and the misery that follows the sin.  The other nine were healed to die again.  The one who returned to give thanks recognized Jesus as God.  This belief healed him unto salvation.  He not only had a healed body, but his spirit and soul (mind, will, emotions) were made whole, as well.  He was no longer leprous in skin, and he was no longer leprous of heart.  He was a new creation inside and out. 

When the Samaritan walked away from Jesus, he was no longer a foreigner.  This man was in, no longer did the dividing wall separate him from God, for, now, he was a child of the promise.  No longer an outcast, he was brought near (read Ephesians 2). 

Then with an exclamation mark, Jesus turned back to the Pharisees in the midst saying, “Behold...the Kingdom of God is in your midst (vs. 21)....because they missed it!  They didn’t see that before their eyes the Kingdom was being made of grateful lepers saved to wholeness and eternal life. 

Lessons to take away: 

There’s so much more to Christianity than just being lawful...has your faith made you well -emotionally, mentally, where your decision-making is concerned, but more importantly - spiritually?

We can’t out-thank Jesus. The more we offer him true eucharisteo, the more he gives (and we can't out-give him either)...  

As we give him thanks, the Kingdom of God enters our midst... Can you see it?  Do you see HIM?  He's amazing!

Open My Eyes

Where better to turn on the journey for an attitude of gratitude, than to explore the road on the border between Samaria and Galilee and see firsthand, Jesus’ interaction with a group of ten lepers.  This was an unlikely group of people comprised of both Galileans and a Samaritan.  Even though “nothing good came out of Galilee,” Samaritans were despicable.  Not even a Galilean would have anything to do with a Samaritan.  But, leprosy held no prejudices, and disease like this had a tendency to unite the unlikely. 

I can’t imagine the toll leprosy took on a human: the pain, the emotional tsunami, the despair, the loneliness, the poverty, the confusion, the condemnation, the rejection...  Lepers were the untouchable, the unclean, the excluded, the ignored, and the “outcast.”  As hard as that had to be, here’s the “doozy”:  Leprosy was illegal. Yeah, it was “against the law” to be leprous. Seriously. I can’t conceive of being struck with a disease that I could do nothing about and immediately declared “GUILTY (as if I had committed a crime)!”  How do I know?  In verse 14, of chapter 17 (Luke’s gospel), these words are used “they were cleansed.”  The Greek word, which we translate cleansed, meant “made clean,” but it came from a root word that literally implied that they were “made lawful.”  You can’t be made lawful, unless you are first and foremost lawless.  Being a leper meant you were all of the above.  These men needed MERCY - in a BIG WAY!

So, they came to Jesus as he passed through the region. Hoping against hope...  Dreaming of possibilities... Minds whirling with the “what ifs...”  Oh, the compassion of Jesus!  He took one look at them, and said, “Go... to the priests.”  Please take note of this fact:  Jesus said nothing about being healed.  At that very moment the ten saw no evidence of their healing, but they must have had some element of faith, because they went.  “And it came about as they were going; they were cleansed (vs. 14).” 

Healing often comes that way – as we are going, and in spite of how we feel, regardless of what we see, and apart from what we think we know.  As we listen to the voice of Jesus, the possible becomes real. When did they see their healing?  For one, it appears immediate.  The others may have noticed, but didn’t really have their eyes fully opened.  If they had, all ten would have turned back in gratitude.  As it was, only one of the ten, in the midst of ecstatic, mind-blowing, life-altering transformation came back to Jesus, glorifying God with a loud voice...

...and he fell on his face at his feet giving thanks to Him, and he was a Samaritan (vs 16).

This one verse tells me a lot.  The more we recognize our condition without Jesus’ touch, the more grateful we are when we receive it.  The Samaritan was doubly outcast.  For the Jews in the group, there was a little element of “entitlement.”  Secondly, what does it say in general about our ability to be genuinely thankful?  Could it be that only 10% of us truly have our eyes fully opened to our blessings?  It’s caused me to examine myself...and as George Herbert once prayed, so I echo, “Lord, you have given me so many blessings, now I ask for one more thing...a heart of gratitude.”  Open my eyes, Lord, make me fully thankful!  May it be so – Amen & Amen!