¹ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  (Ephesians 5:1-2)

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NOTICED: “Domino’s Pizza in Australia posted a job for ‘chief garlic bread taste tester.’” ¹

Any applicant of a job like this must be willing to deal with the consequences of “garlic breath,” which is “pungent, sharp, spicy, and strong. Bad breath or halitosis is associated with “garlic breath.” ²

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Most of us would not regard this position as a desirable career choice or even want it as a temporary job. We would, likely, need to rinse repeatedly with mouthwash and chew a lot of gum to try and dispel the “aroma” as we engaged with friends and family. Yet, that scent would remain with us beyond opening our mouths. Daily, repeated encounters with garlic would permeate our clothes and our very bodies. We would never be able to fully rid ourselves of that odor.

The metaphor of this situation is applicable to the person whose words and presence do not exude a “fragrant smell” to those he or she encounters.  The smell of garlic breath might be associated with works of the flesh in this comparison: ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5: 19-21)

As a Christian, we are to have Christ in us through our words, actions, deeds, and mind. What comes forth from us to others should be a “sweet smell,” one that is recognizable as the “fruit of the spirit”: ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5: 22-25) 

In our world today, “garlic breath” seems to be overwhelmingly prevalent. We can “smell it” from the internet and all forms of the media. We can “smell it” while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store, in the hallways of our schools, at the sports events of our children, in our workplaces, while waiting at the stoplight, in the restaurants where we eat, as we walk down the main street of our towns and cities, in the houses of friends and relatives, and maybe in our own homes and even in our own church buildings.

The world needs the sweet aroma of Christ through us to be the ever-abiding fragrance, to permeate all walks of life and to dispel the foul odor of the “works of the flesh.”

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word; but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.  (2 Corinthians 2: 14-17)

Let us, “in the sight of God,” Who is ever-present, “speak in Christ”

and “{spread}the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.”

 

¹Time Magazine. Source: ABC, Reuters. UPI. October 14, 2019. “For the Record.”

² The Smell of Garlic. Google.com

(Sharon G. Tate 10/13/19 blog) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word