God uses us, Christians, to spread “the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived (or received) differently by those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
“To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume…”
-2 Corinthians 2:14-16
How do we know if we are giving off sweet perfume to God? By the fruit of the Spirit. The “fruit of the Spirit” is basically evidence of God’s spirit, or Holy Spirit, in you. There are noticeable signs of this, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
You may say, “hey, wait a minute, I accepted Christ and I believe the Holy Spirit lives in me, but I don’t always display the fruits of the spirit.”
Jesus says in John 15, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.”
So, how can we bear more fruit?
Isaiah 55:11 states that “His word always produces fruit.”
The bible also reminds us that the bread of God, His word, is more edifying to us than the food that we can buy…and his word is free! (This is the heart of the creators of the YouVersion Bible app, and also why it is free!).
In the same chapter, God says about his word that “it will accomplish all I want it to… Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; and they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” (11, 13).
Thorns are spiky, they hurt, and normally they cause death to the things trying to grow around them. A lot of things the enemy tries to throw our way are like thorns in our life: betrayal, addictions, sickness, etc. But God says, he will make a cypress tree out of them. Cypress trees are a symbol of resurrection in the bible, and in real life, they grow tall and strong, and their wood is durable and fragrant.
Some species of nettle, a shrub, can sting. From the things that sting in our life, God allows myrtles to grow. Guess what myrtles make? A fragrant essential oil.
We can allow the thorns and the nettle in our lives to make us hard and callous, bringing about death everywhere we go.
Or we can allow God’s word and His spirit to bear fruit in us, bringing about life and nourishment to those around us by displaying his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Only then, do we give off that sweet fragrance that is pleasing to God.
“But he finds joy in the Law of the Lord and thinks about His Law day and night. He is like a tree planted by rivers of water, which gives its fruit at the right time and its leaf never dries up. Whatever he does will work out well for him.” –Psalm 1:2-3
Letters To A King 