2 Corinthians 1:14-15
“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15)
If someone said the word minister, what would come to mind? Perhaps it would be the chief religious officer in a socially acceptable Protestant church. Or perhaps, having just listened to the news, you would think more in terms of Ministers of State, Minister of Finance or Prime Minister. It’s not too likely, that when I say the word minister, you think servant. And yet this role, the servant role, is the theme of 2 Corinthians 2:14: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” But. Thanks be to God, but what?
In other words, something has happened for which you ordinarily wouldn’t think to give thanks. Well, let’s begin somewhere else. Let’s try the 12th verse: “Now when I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.”
Have you ever noticed how the Bible is often not nearly as spiritual as we are? This doesn’t look like the way we ordinarily get guidance. Paul went to a city and God opened the door for him, it says. But. He didn’t have any peace of mind, particularly because his friend wasn’t there. So he went on to the next town with all of this peregrination, all of this wandering around from place to place, God opening doors and Paul was not feeling good about it, about his friend not being there.
But thanks be to God. Why? Because wherever I go, wherever I am, thinks Paul, God always leads us in his triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved, and the smell of death to those who are perishing. To one the smell of death, to another the fragrance of life.
So this is the job description of the servant of God. The figure Paul is using here is the analogy of the triumphal procession, in which the conquering general returns home to Rome. Perhaps he has made conquest of a whole area, a whole region. And he comes back in triumph. They have a procession. They built an arch for him. And at the head of the procession, first are the leaders of Rome, and then comes the triumphant general in his chariot. And they tell us, chained to his chariot was the one who was a very special captive followed by incense bearers and soldiers.
And Paul is saying, “I one day bowed the knee to the conquering General Jesus Christ. Then he chained me to his chariot, and now wherever he leads me, I follow him. Then Paul changes the analogy to the incense bearer in the processional and wherever I go, I am the fragrance of Christ. Notice what he says, for we are to God the aroma of Christ. So when something other than the fragrance of Christ comes from us, it not only is a terrible and tragic thing for those who are around us wherever we go, but what a sadness for our God.
So there you have it, the job description of the servant. It’s really very simple, and you may not be sure always that you’re exactly in the right place, or maybe that you’re doing exactly the right thing. But if you, in loyal obedience to him, follow him and disseminate, as it says here, the knowledge of Christ to everyone in every place. Then you’re a true servant and God’s heart is satisfied. A rather simple job, but awesome, isn’t it?
In the Cairo museum, we saw an alabaster jar which had been sealed for 4,000 years. When they opened it the fragrance of the perfume was the same as when it was first put into the jar. After the Museum they took us to a perfume factory. They called those fragrances “essences”. They talked me into buying a very small jar of a rare perfume. They told me it was not sold outside of Egypt – Lotus flower. And I thought, “Whenever Deb opens this we will catch the essence of Egypt and our honeymoon cruise down the Nile.” And so it has been.
Today, Jesus doesn’t want to keep his fragrance bottled up in you. He wants to open you up and let what’s inside come out. Maybe the unstopping won’t be fun. Perhaps he’ll pry you open with a cruel tongue of an evil person, put the squeeze of adversity on you, turn up the heat of an impossible task under you. And when he does–God works the impossible alchemy, the miracle transformation and the essence of Jesus suffuses your world.