Sweet Fragrance!

August 24, 2023

Sweet Fragrance!

There is something sweet about friendship. 

There is the sharing of common experiences, the recollection of good memories, and the commitment to new adventures in the future.

There is the journeying through a season of loss together, the offering of words of comfort, and the giving of acts of compassion.

There is the laughter, the tears, and the “I can’t believe you did that!” moments.

There is something sweet about friendship.

There is the reaching out a hand when help is needed, the promise of hope when everything feels like defeat, and the gift of life when everything around feels dead or dying.

There is the word of instruction, the word of correction, and the word of accountability.

There is the knowing of the other, the being known by the other, and the acceptance of one another.

There is something sweet about friendship.

When the breath of life breathes the first breath into us there is friendship.  When the one who made us sets us free there is still the desire for friendship.  When the divine reaches a hand out to lift us up from our most recent stumble there is the hope of friendship.

In John 15:14-15 Jesus says; “You are my friends if you do what I command you.  I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends…”  Jesus says He is my friend!

But, sometimes all we see is the holiness and greatness, the goodness and glory, and the wisdom and power of Jesus to the exclusion of seeing the humanity and friendship of Jesus.  Jesus is fully God and Jesus is fully human. 

In all that Jesus is (divine and human!), Jesus desires to be in a loving and right relationship with you and me.  In other words, Jesus wants to be your friend…today and through all eternity!     

There is something sweet about friendship with Jesus.

In II Corinthians 2:14-16 Paul writes; “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:  to the one group a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”

Paul describes the sweet fragrance/aroma that comes in knowing Jesus. 

There is the sweetness of Jesus’ love and forgiveness and grace. 

There is the sweetness of Jesus’ listening ear, tender heart, and rescuing hand. 

There is the sweetness of Jesus’ guidance, goodness, and glory. 

There is the sweetness of knowing Jesus is my friend. 

In 1865, Joseph wrote a song titled; “What A Friend We Have In Jesus.”  The song reminds us of the sweet fragrance of knowing Jesus is my friends through all the celebrations and all the difficulties of life.  I invite you to read the first verse prayerfully.

“What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

My load will be lightened, my concerns will be heard, my peace will be restored, my pain will be comforted when I know Jesus is my friend.  There is something sweet about friendship with Jesus. 

And there is something sweet about sharing the love and friendship of Jesus with another person.  Paul says we “…are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…”  When we share the love of Jesus with someone there is a sweet fragrance that reaches all the way to heaven.

I imagine you know someone who does not know that Jesus is their friend.  They struggle to believe there is any help or any hope or any forgiveness.  They find it difficult to believe that God is so great and glorious and at the same time so approachable and accepting. 

Your friend is struggling to know (intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually!) the sweet fragrance of knowing Jesus is their friend.  Consider sharing a cup of coffee and the promise that there is a sweetness in knowing Jesus is our friend. 

When you share the good news, there will be a delight that is released deep inside of you and in your friend.  It is a sweet fragrance!

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug