Our Lord is known as the lily of the valleys (Song2:1). I must admit, I am partial to the fragrant perfume of fresh white lilies. They emit a very pleasant smell indeed. As pictured above, the bright white colour of this flowering plant clearly symbolises Christ’s purity and holiness. C.H. Spurgeon remarked in his sermon from 1867, The Rose and The Lily: “I see him white as the lily as he ascends on high in his perfect righteousness, clothed in his white robe of victory, to receive gifts for men.”
Interestingly, he is referred to as the lily of the valley. Valleys are often dark and desolate places. A valley in scripture is associated with hardship. A place not to dwell in for long but to pass through, until you reach more fertile soil. It’s a place where vegetation scarcely grows due to a lack of moisture and an area that gets very little sunlight.
Christ who is our lily, grew up like a root out of the same dry and arid conditions forementioned. As God’s heavenly bloom, he blossomed here in this dark valley below and clothed our barren land with the purest of white petals.
The Mystery Revealed
Earlier this year, I stumbled across an article on Charles Darwin, which detailed his struggle in understanding how different species of flowering plants, could suddenly appear and have such instant diversity from one another. Unable to answer the question from an evolutionary context, he went on to call it an “abominable mystery”. His comment demonstrates his utter unwillingness, to even entertain the possibility of a creator or to accept that his naturalistic worldview was limited.
There are simply some mysteries that only God can explain. If Mr Darwin, in his consideration of the lillies of the field, would have humbled himself and looked upon the lily of the valley, then he too would have been clothed by the Lord. Jesus sprang up suddenly, to spread an aroma of grace and truth to this fallen world. The question is, are we an aroma of Christ in the nostrils of our God?
This is what Paul states in 2 Corinthians chapter two: “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (v.15). Let’s take a look at each one of these separately.
Aroma Of Christ To God
The aromas that the most high delights in all involve sacrifice. There has been no sacrifice as pleasing to the nostrils of God, than the death of his only begotten son. The Levitical priesthood in the Old Testament were commanded to continually present various offerings to the Lord. On a year-to-year basis they would prepare a host of sacrifices for both their sins and the sins of the people.
This was allowed by God and accepted for a time, but it could never take away sins altogether. They were merely a pre-cursor, a shadow of things to come. Jesus Christ is the final sacrifice and as our high priest, he has offered up himself for our sins once and for all.
The sweet fragrance of the saviour’s blood which was poured out on Calvary, is the same blood that has purified us and washed us clean. This special aroma has now been given to us, his blood bought ones. After being cleansed of our corruption, he has lovingly clothed us from on high with his robe of righteousness, perfumed with cassia, myrrh and aloe.
Our bodies have become the temple of the Holy Spirit, within which a perpetual incense now burns to the Lord. Through the sacrificial offering of the body of Christ, we have received the aroma of life.
The Strength Of Our Aroma
Do we all exhibit this aroma? In a sense, we are all wearing Christ’s fragrance but I think if we are completely honest with ourselves, the strength that we produce isn’t as pungent as God would like. We should continually be aware of the odour that we present to God and perform regular smell checks. It can become all too easy to be content with our current level of potency but we are to always compare ourselves with Christ’s perfect aroma and not each others.
Due to our fallen nature, what we give off can only be an imitation of the Lord’s, but it is most certainly not a cheap knock-off. If we have the spirit then it’s the real deal, however we must sincerely strive and pray for a sweeter savour. To believe that you have Christ’s aroma is one thing but to consciously live and abide in this knowledge is another. It should be a living reality and not just a quick spray to be used when it suits us or when we’re in select company. Nor can it be a superficial covering, which will last for a short while and inevitably wear off.
We who have Christ’s spirit, should be aiming for a closer likeness to him in all aspects of our character. The key notes of this spiritual fragrance should already be familiar to us, they are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Gal.5:22-23).
As his followers, we are to walk even as he walked (1John2:6). The closer we get to Christ, the more in step with the spirit we shall be and the more his divine scent shall rub off on us. It’s easy to take this truth for granted but we should always endeavour to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom.13:14). We are his representatives in the eyes of the world and more importantly in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. It is dishonourable to God, to not earnestly desire a stronger aroma.
Holy Sacrifice
Aaron was commanded to burn fragrant incense on the altar of his God and was strictly warned not to burn unauthorised incense. “And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the LORD. Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people” (Exo.30:37,38). Likewise, we should not deviate from the Holy aroma of Christ which perfumes the pages of the New Testament. It has been freely given to us, but it is an eternal essence that cost much.
We cannot afford to favour our own brand of Christianity or be attracted to a certain scent simply because it’s inexpensive or fashionable. Generally speaking, these fragrances are all too often fake and are unacceptable to the Lord, being manufactured with synthetic ingredients. The bottom line here should be: the finer the perfume, the higher the cost.
Though he had no form or majesty that we should look to him and no beauty that we should desire him (Isaiah 53:2), Jesus certainly would have stood out from among the people. Here is what the Jewish historian Josephus wrote of him, in his Antiquities from 93 AD: “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ” (book 18).
I like this description because it highlights Christ’s otherness, his holiness. Many of the Jews believed that he was sent from God but only as a prophet, we know him to be the anointed one of Israel, the Son of Glory. Just as he was chosen and set apart, we are called to be Holy, even as he is Holy (Lev.19:2). This takes a certain amount of sacrifice and true sincerity of heart. It’s part of our spiritual participation in Christ’s death, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal.2:20).
We are to strive to keep our garments clean and we should hate the one spotted by the flesh. We are then, to be going through a type of spiritual death. Paul says in 1 Corinthians “I die daily” (15:31) and if we too mortify the deeds of the body, we shall display a stronger, more Christlike aroma.
Our Natural Aroma
Though we are new creations, the odiousness of sin is our natural body odour, passed down to us through Adam. In everyday life, we cover up bad smells by spraying over them with pleasant ones. We couldn’t do that with the stench of sin, it was too strong. Despite that, God in his mercy has given us the heavenly aroma of his son, which has covered them once and for all.
There should be no embalming of our old man, he has to be put in the grave and must be left to decompose. We have a living spirit to help us in this gradual process of dying to self. We have been called to be a peculiar people who will mind the things of the spirit and not the flesh. Committing to this, as best we can, will do much to prevent any spiritual decay in our lives. Sin no longer has power over us because of Christ’s victory. The old maxim may be true, ‘old habits die hard’ but die they must and die they shall through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Aroma To Each Other
I wonder if you have ever experienced in your Christian walk, a time where you suspected a complete stranger to be a believer and found upon striking up a conversation with them, that your suspicions were correct. This is not a difficult mystery to solve. We have come to know the distinct aroma that we possess and therefore we can recognise it on others who wear the same. Unlike everyday life, we take no offence whatsoever when our brother or sister has the same perfume or cologne on as us, on the contrary, we rejoice.
I remember a similar occurrence happening to me, one sunny afternoon. Whilst living in the city of Norwich, I travelled to a local park to read a book. It was Easter weekend and the park was already busy by the time I arrived. After some time reading, I posed this question to God: “I wonder how many, if any, know you in this park Lord?!”. A few minutes later, my eyes were drawn to a family of four, who were passing through the centre of the park. I remember thinking to myself, “there’s something different about this family.”
Naively, I put it down to the fact, that in all honesty, they seemed a little overdressed in what was a scorching hot day. Sure enough though, my thoughts were made to look very silly as the father brought the family to the bench closest to me. After some encouragement from the mother, the two children then took turns to sing a verse from the popular song among little ones- ‘Jesus loves me’. God clearly had answered my presumptuous prayer. The experience put me in remembrance of the reassuring words which the Lord spoke to Paul at Corinth when he said: “I have many people in this city” (Acts18:10).
In their short rendition, they purposefully changed some of the words towards the end of the song in typical childlike fashion. Led by the spirit, I felt compelled to help them out a bit and in doing so, reveal that I too, was of the same aroma as them. I said, “no, no, it’s the bible tells me so. Jesus loves me too you see”. In their astonishment, their faces lit up.
This may seem fairly inconsequential to some of you but it was important for me to interact with them in some manner, as God had clearly sent them my way. We should always look for opportunities to engage with people in our day-to-day lives, folk from any age or background. We never know whether the Lord has brought them near for a reason.
After this interaction, I would every now and then lift up my eyes from the pages of my book and see in particular, the little girl smiling over to me as she played with her brother. The memory of which, still warms my heart to this day. Likewise, I hope and pray that my tiny involvement in their day lives on in their memories, as they grow older.
According to the experts, because of differences in body chemistry, temperature, and odour, no perfume will smell exactly the same on any two people. But as members of the beloved, we should be somewhat of an exception to this statement. It’s true, we have our own particular gifts and personality traits, but our overarching fragrance is one and the same. “There is one lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph.4:6). We bear the precious aroma of Christ, an overwhelming, uniquely holy and exquisite scent.
Aroma To The Perishing
Paul continues in 2 Corinthians chapter two by saying “to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?” (v.16).
In the Josephus quote from earlier, it was implied that Christ had a natural ability to draw people to himself. Pleasant smells always have this effect on those who are nearby. Christ’s aroma had the power to attract people from far and wide to come and listen to him. Such was it’s strength, that not even all the spices in India could rival it.
An aroma should elicit a response. Even if it’s not a particularly pleasant one. When you smell something you don’t like, you want to get rid of it. You want it to either change completely or be far away from you. The gospel is no different to the world. To them, our aroma is a foul smell and unless God opens their airways, they will never be able to discern its pleasantness. They see it as a thick smoke from a bygone era which should be done away with.
What we proclaim is death to the majority of the world because they mistakenly affirm that they have life. Many may continue to scoff at our message and even if the masses turn their noses up at us, we must not be discouraged or ashamed of our aroma.
Pleasing aromas have the ability to attract people and arouse a sense of intrigue. Often a person cannot see what is causing a certain smell but this then leads them to ask questions and wonder. God often leads people in this way and uses our aroma of Christ to whet a persons appetite for the gospel. As Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John6:44). It’s wise to be mindful of this, in the hope that some should be led back to the source and come to know that the Lord is good (1Pet.2:3).
There are smells that we once found so sweet, that had power to lure us in, which now by God’s grace, we reject and detest. The world in it’s sin, is a stench of death to God. We have to remember though, that we too were a foul smell in the nostrils of the Lord. Before the raising of Lazarus, Martha said to Jesus: “Lord by this time there is a stench for he has been dead four days” (John11:39). No matter what the strength of the corruption is, Christ has the power to overcome it. Just like Lazarus whom he loved (John11:3-6), he has called us out by name, removed our grave clothes, untied us from the bondage of sin and set us free by the word of truth. We have passed from death to life.
Our Lily Of The Valley
The lily of the valley have very distinctive drooping heads. In colloquial language we use the phrase “hang your head” to indicate shame and embarrassment. Christ as our precious lily, humbled himself to the grave and bowed his head for us, despising the shame of the cross. He did this so that we could lift up our heads, fix our eyes upon him and find eternal life.
If you have God’s spirit, then you are his and he has anointed your head with oil to offer aromatherapy to the world. We have been infused with the aroma of Christ and it should emanate more and more each day, from the very pores of our being. To answer Paul, we are sufficient for these things if we depend entirely on Jesus as our source. He is our essential oil, who is able to heal the broken hearted and be the balm to the world’s woes. He is the living lily of the valley, whose aroma shall lead us on like the bright and morning star, until we all arrive safely in the place of his heavenly rest.
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