*sniff* mmmmm... smells good! Have you ever had a really great candle that just smelled lovely? Or maybe a Scentsy flavor that just, well, pleased your nose? Well, as I learned today in church, we can be a sweet-smelling savour to our Lord.
Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour." So, from verse 1, we understand that we are to follow God as His dear children. And then, in verse 2, we are told to walk in love, as Christ did, and this includes offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God as Christ did. And when we do that, our sacrifice produces a sweet-smelling savour.
There are plenty of verses that speak of our sacrificing of ourselves, and also the sacrifice of praise. Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." We are to present ourselves a sacrifice unto God, holy and acceptably. In the Old Testament, Israelites had to go to the temple to have the priests sacrifice for them. I don't think that God was looking for the lamb's death, although it was a symbol of Christ. I do think that God was looking for the sacrifice of obedience. But just think... God has made us priests, in that we can sacrifice our lives for our Lord!
Another sacrifice is the sacrifice of praise. Really, the sacrifice of our lives is a sacrifice of praise, and it produces that sweet-smelling savour, as a candle. Hebrews 13:15-16 says, "By whom therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Our praise is a sweet-smelling savour to God. There is so much more in these verses, why don't you read them over again?
We should attribute to God the glory that is due to Him. A great example of this is in the Model {Lord's} Prayer. At the end of His prayer, Jesus says, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever." Another example of praise and giving glory to God I Psalm 29. Take the time to read it now! God is the One who lights us as candles!
A candle not only smells good, but it also produces light! Matt. 5:14-16 says, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works. and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Well, there's a handful {or much more!} of meaning in these verses! We are candles to the world, set on a candlestick for everyone to see. When they do see us, and our good works {the fruit that we talked about yesterday}, they will glorify God! Weren't we just talking about that?!?
Well, alot was packed into this little post! But I pray that it spoke to your heart. We are to be a living sacrifice to God, praise and glorify Him, and be radiant about it!
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