People Are Like Incense.

People are like incense. You burn it, and it gives off some kind of an aroma.

I have seen and smelled a lot of different kinds of incense. Some of it smells fantastic. On the other hand, some of it smells like . . . well, a lot of things that are a little too crude to write in a blog post.

Like incense, sometimes we are brought to the fire. And when we are, we will undoubtedly produce an aroma.

The million dollar question is this: when YOU are brought through the fire, what is your aroma?

James 1:2-4 says:
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

There is no question about it "WHEN you meet trials." Not "If." Sometimes things happen in our lives and we don't know how to deal with it. Sometimes God lets us come through the fire because He sees something beautiful beneath all of the slag and impurities, similar to the process of purifying gold. He knows that after we come out of the fire, the ugly parts will have melted away.

But what about while we are in the fire? Like with incense, when we are in the fire we will give off an aroma. Will it be a pleasing aroma? Or will it be on that disgusts others and sends them away holding their nose?

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 says:
"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, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life."

We need remember that we are like incense. When we are in the fire, we have a strong aroma. And we need to decide what kind of aroma we want to saturate our surroundings with.

As Christians, we have a responsibility to be mindful of our aroma. When others are around us, our "Christness" should be so strong that we blow people away by it. It should be so strong that after we walk past someone, the scent lingers.

So just remember. People are like incense.