The Scent of God’s Love
By Julia Fowler, Worship Arts Pastor
As I walked down the hallway towards my office this morning I was aware that there was a new and distinct odor in the hallway. Scanning what little of it there is and the nearer I got to my office door I realized the scent was coming from a single stemmed beautifully, and fully-opened pale pink lily leaned against my door … along with it was a note.
It read simply… "Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness. You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make as strong. Yes, Our protection comes from the Lord…" Psalms 89:15-18
What a blessing that scripture was to me this morning and it immediately spoke to my heart with this reminder. Anyone who has lily's in their garden, or who has ever been around a large group of these flowers knows the enormous amount of fragrance they can emanate together. It can actually be quite overwhelming. But even one single stem has incredible influence over the area in which it resides. I believe this is a remarkable example of how God intends the fragrance of our lives to effect the space in which we exist. Much like the scent of this one lily filled the hallway this morning, and fills my office even know, so our lives should be filled with such a beautiful perfume as God's love. This type of spirit dispensed in such a beautiful and dense fashion is undeniable and overwhelming to all who come in contact with it.
Be mindful today that the fragrance of your life is effecting the circles you influence – is the scent you are emanating sweet or bitter?
I had a similar experience at a Hamilton event called "Acquire the Fire" several years ago. We were all packed into a stadium, thousands of people. It was a 2 day event, and on the second day I think everyone in the entire place was either a Christian or had just become one, it was that powerful an event, with some of the best speakers I've ever heard. Then as the last speaker was talking, all of a sudden I started to smell this amazing aroma. It smelled like some kind of fresh smelling perfume, I've never smelled anything like it before or since. I couldn't figure out what it was. Then, 1 to 2 hundred feet ahead of me, on stage, the speaker exclaimed "Does everyone smell that?" at which point thousands of people in the stadium all cheered. He said "That's the scent of God walking through the room with us tonight". I was perplexed. I couldn't believe it. This smell had enveloped this massive arena, and was literally everywhere. I tried to put it together, and the cynic in me looked for every possible scientific explanation as to how this might have occurred, but there was no explanation that made any sense to me. I had truly been in the presence of Yahweh, it was as if God was giving us all a present saying "This is the scent you can look forward to in My Kingdom". If you want to know more (and prove that I'm not just making this up) email me, its cameronlourenco@hotmail.com
Posted by
Cameron Lourenco |
Friday, July 03, 2009 5:27:00 PM
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