Fragrance

‘One thing I have asked of the Lord,
And that I will seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in his presence]
All the days of my life,
To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord
And to meditate in his temple.’ (Psalm 27:4 Amplified)

Have you ever liked someone so much you wanted to live with them?

Or enjoyed a holiday so much you did not want it to end?

Think about your favourite holiday spot, a place where you feel completely at home. When the end of the holiday comes, there is a hesitation to leave, a reluctance to return to normality. Simply put, you have fallen in love with the place. You could live there forever.

That is how I feel about God. I simply love him – not because I think I should or because that is how I was raised, but because he loves me and I fell in love with him the first time I felt his love. That love for God has endured and matured over the years. I want to be with him, above all others, above all else.

I simply love him, because he loves me.

The above Psalm speaks to me of the sheer enjoyment of God’s company. And it’s not just about living with him. I want to pour out my entire life to him.

It’s like an old-fashioned drink offering. In the old testament of the bible, the priests would pour out wine before the Lord as part of their sacrifices and offerings to him. They would also light incense before God so that a sweet aroma would rise before him.

In the new testament, it is not just our drink or incense that is an offering to God, but our whole lives (Romans 12:1). Everything we do, every thought, every word, is for him. Everything I write, every song, every blog, the work I do, my whole being is an offering poured out to God.

Everything I write, my whole being is an offering poured out to God.

And my highest hope is that my life will be like a sweet fragrance to him.

It reminds me of the story in Mark 14 where an unnamed woman poured out expensive perfume on Jesus’ head. It was an extravagant and costly expression of her love for Jesus. I want my life to look like that.

Fragrance is about intimacy and communion. It is also about devotion. It says to God we are willing to devote our entire lives to him as an offering, freely and joyfully given. It says we want to please him as much as a good perfume pleases us.

We want to please God as much as a good perfume pleases us.

May our lives be a sweet aroma to God, not just while we sing this song, but for every day of our lives and into eternity. May we never cease to pour out our love for him.

Have you thought about yourself as a fragrance to God? How can you offer your whole self to him? How can you pour out your life for God? Share your story. Let’s have a countercultural conversation.