Life-Giving Fragrance

Photo by Sentrawoods

I was working the other morning in the garden pulling weeds when I smelled something. It wasn’t so strong that it overwhelmed you, nor was it so faint that you had to search for it.

It was just there. It was unmistakable, and it brought a smile to my face as I enjoyed it.

It was the butterfly bush.

I love the butterfly bush. It stands tall in the middle of our garden. To be honest, it is not the most beautiful of bushes, nor does it have a pretty flower. What it lacks in beauty though, it makes up in other areas. One doesn’t buy a butterfly bush because they want to cut the flowers and put them in a vase on the table. We buy the butterfly bush for another reason.

It attracts life. The local hummingbirds can be seen flying from flower to flower. And, of course, the butterflies hover over the plant and feast away on its nectar. Life seems to swim in its aroma.

It was a joy to take in the life and aroma of the bush that morning.

And then God reminded me of a verse. It was unmistakable, and it brought a smile to my face as well.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”

O, to be a pleasing aroma for Christ. A smell that is unmistakable. A fragrance that brings life.

Jesus, I want to be like the butterfly bush.