“Omg Delight, you smell so good. Like you just got back from a perfume factory. Where have you been?”

“I know right. I was bored, so I went for a walk.”

"You've started. I've gone on plenty walks and I never come back smelling like this. Just tell me the brand. Put me on, sis."

“Brand? Oh. It's called Holy Perfume.”

“Eh en. Where can I get it?”

“You already have it, Joyce. Just build on it.”

I like to smell nice,

nothing like obsession in my books,

but no condemnation to you that has over twenty perfumes.

I like perfumes.

The kind that stays

on your clothes

long after you've left.

The kind that turns heads.

The kind that makes people ask,

“What are you wearing?”

But not every fragrance comes in a bottle.

I'm talking about

the fragrance the spirit carries.

‭2 Corinthians 2:15; “For we are like a sweet-smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost.”

We are Christ's fragrance.

Through His sacrifice,

He made it possible

for our lives

to carry a fragrance

pleasing to God.

A scent does not strive

to be noticed.

It simply is.

And somehow,

without speaking,

it fills a room.

So does a life

that walks with God.

The aroma reaches people

before the sermon does.

Because every vessel

carries something.

Some carry bitterness.

Some carry pride.

Some carry the dust of places God

never asked them to stay.

And every scent spreads.

The smell of smoke follows fire.

The smell of rain announces a storm.

The smell of bread travels farther

than the bread itself.

‭2 Corinthians 2:16; “For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life. Who, then, is capable for such a task?”

The same fragrance.

The same Christ.

Yet hearts respond differently.

Still, the scent remains.

I think that's why people knew

the disciples had been with Jesus.

Because encounters leave traces.

A room smells

like whatever has occupied it longest.

Stay near smoke,

and you'll smell like smoke.

Stay near Christ, 

and eventually,

you'll smell like Him.

Like mercy.

Like truth.

Like grace.

Like love.

This fragnance is not sold in stores.

No amount of money can purchase it.

It is gathered in secret places.

In quiet mornings.

In surrendered hearts.

In obedience.

In staying close enough to Jesus.

Until His fragrance

becomes stronger

than our own.

God wants us

to carry His knowledge

everywhere.

A fragrance so distinct

that wandering hearts

stop and take notice.

A fragrance

that points beyond us

to Him.

Because perfume fades.

But the fragrance

of Christ remains.

So tell me.

When people encounter you,

what do they smell?

What fragrance do you carry?

What follows you into a room?

What lingers after you've left?