Fragrance is the word I think of when my friend Ellen comes to mind.<\/p>\n
We\u2019d shared life and laughter over lunch. I dropped her off at home, and as I continued my afternoon errands I noticed her fragrance lingered. We’d spent enough time together that the fragrance of her perfume remained after she left my presence.<\/p>\n
Every reference to her mentions one detail: she was always found at Jesus’ feet. Let’s take a few minutes to read her story.<\/p>\n
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet<\/em> listening to what he said” (italics mine).<\/p>\n “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’<\/p>\n “‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her'” (Luke 10:38-41).<\/p>\n We see another glimpse of Mary when her brother became sick. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had died. In her grief Mary ran to Jesus and fell at his feet<\/em> (John 11:32).<\/p>\n Another snapshot: “Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.<\/p>\n “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet <\/em>and wiped his feet with her hair. <\/em>And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:1-3).<\/p>\n The fragrance of the perfume Mary poured out as an expression of her love and devotion to Christ filled the whole house. Sitting at Jesus\u2019 feet and listening to his teaching surely gave her life his lingering fragrance.<\/p>\n The Lord asks a penetrating question: “who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?” (Jeremiah 30:21).<\/p>\nHow do I express my love and devotion to Christ? <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n He yearns for us to draw near to him, to know his heart, to walk with him in obedience.<\/p>\n Many people believe the Bible is a locked Book. They\u2019ve read without understanding and lost hope of unlocking this treasure. I lived in that place for many years until God gave me such a thirst for him that I began seeking him with all my heart.<\/p>\n I wanted to know what he said and how he wanted me to live. I wanted to know him! As the Holy Spirit began teaching me, I understood the Psalmist\u2019s reflection. “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103).<\/p>\n As the Israelites prepared to enter the land of promise, Moses reviewed all the Lord had done. He said, “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?” (Deuteronomy 4:7).<\/p>\n Spending time with the Lord causes his fragrance to permeate our lives as we go on with our day, pouring ourselves out as an expression of love and devotion to him.<\/p>\n Now’s a good time to ask ourselves: have I spent enough time with Jesus that my life carries his fragrance? Does it linger in my home? In my workplace? In all my relationships?<\/p>\n \u201cThanks be to God who leads us, wherever we are, on Christ\u2019s triumphant way and makes our knowledge of him spread throughout the world like a lovely perfume! We Christians have the unmistakable \u2018scent\u2019 of Christ\u2026.\u201d (2 Corinthians 2:14 Phillips).<\/p>\n Lord, let your lingering fragrance sweeten our homes and all our relationships so that our lives may be a pleasing aroma, a scent of satisfaction to your heart.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019d love to know if this series, \u201cDispensing the Sweet Fragrance of Christ,\u201d has touched your life. Please share your thoughts.<\/p>\n Adapted from I Don\u2019t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2018<\/p>\n Scripture references from the New International Version unless noted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fragrance is the word I think of when my friend Ellen comes to mind. We\u2019d shared life and laughter over lunch. I dropped her off at home, and as I continued my afternoon errands I noticed her fragrance lingered. We’d spent enough time together that the fragrance of her perfume remained after she left my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[86,9,81,84,83,82,85,88,87],"class_list":["post-612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-devotion","tag-dianne-barker","tag-fragrance-that-lingers-and-sweetens","tag-lazarus","tag-martha","tag-mary","tag-perfume","tag-scent-of-christ","tag-sitting-at-jesus-feet"],"yoast_head":"\nThe fragrance had a far-reaching influence.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What an honor to know the Lord intimately!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
We\u2019ve discussed six keys to unleashing the fragrance of Christ in our lives.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Listen to this precious thought.<\/strong><\/h3>\n