Jesus Scented Candles??

I love to ask people, “If you were a candle, what would you be?” No, it’s not, ‘What is your favorite scent that you can pick up at your Bath and Body Works?’, but, ‘What kind of candle would you be?’ I often encourage whoever I ask to take it as detailed as they want. Some people don’t really get the point of it and stick with a simple Vanilla candle, but some go as detailed as what type of wax, color, type of container, woodwick or regular, and scent. Those are my kind of people.

When I met this squad, I had asked them all the candle question. A few days later all the teams got to choose their team names and our yellow team became, “JSC.”  Now for weeks they wouldn’t tell anyone what their name meant and challenged those on the Gap 23 to put forth their best guess. No one could manage to crack it. With time, and needing to make sure the name was appropriate we found out it cleverly stood for,  ‘Jesus Scented Candles.’ I instantly loved it! Their name is fun, but is also full of such a beautiful truth in it’s play on my candle question! 

In 2 Corinthians 14-15 it touches on allowing our lives to carry the aroma of Jesus. 

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…”

I really love the picture this same verse paints when in the Message Translation:

“In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.”

So, we are to carry the aroma of Christ…what does that even look like? 

Well, have you ever cooked with onions? You know how pungent the smell of sautéed or grilled onions are? It fills your house with the alert that someone is cooking them. You often end up having that smell all over you. The longer you stay in the kitchen, hovering over the source of the smell, the more it will get on you. For me, I am a huge smells person, so I often have to go change my clothes or wash my hands or I will be smelling them for hours to come. Oh, but that’s just the beginning of where the scent lands. If you end up throwing them in a fajita, or whatever your meal is, your breath with carry that not so delightful linger of what you consumed on your lunch hour. You may try to throw in some mid-day mints, but that taste stays all to well in your mouth. You might become hyperaware if co-workers, friends, or family you talk to might catch a hint of todays meal. You could say it’s hard to get that aroma off you.

In the same way, the more you are around Jesus in His presence, you will come out smelling like Him. If you spend time in His love, your aroma will let off His love wherever you go. You won’t need to try and hide it, change your clothes, or throw in a mint. It is a beautiful fragrance that people desire to smell. A fragrance hat they long to catch a whiff of. 

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” –Ephesians 5:1-2

You know that feeling, when you are completely clean from a shower. You might put on your favorite clothes that allow you to walk in a humble confidence because you know how you look. Then, on top of that, you put on your favorite cologne or perfume. You walk in a different manner. While with Team JSC, we would love boldly, worship boldly, and pray oh so boldly. That team smells like Christ because they genuinely love Him so much. They enter His presence each day at multiple times and bring so many ‘Jesus Fragrances’ around each other after being before God almighty. 

When you eat onion, your words have onion written all over it when you speak. In the same way, when you TASTE and see Jesus, you will carry those things in your heart. And Luke 6:45 says, “…for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” So your words will have a scent of Jesus all over them when you let Him capture your heart. 

Have you been in the presence of God, or the world more?

What fragrance does your life give off?