The Shepherd and His Sheep - Part 30

The Lord is my Shepherd. Surely goodness and mercy shall be the fragrance of my life. The Hebrew word translated as “follow” in the King James Version and as “pursue” in the New Living translation can also mean something like “lie in my wake” or “be the trail I leave.” To lie in your wake is a nautical term that means the way a boat or a ship “disturbs” the water and the trail that leaves. You can also think about it as the perfume or fragrance that remains after you leave. Have you ever gotten in an elevator and smelled a wonderful lingering fragrance of a great perfume? How about getting in an elevator after someone with bad body odour was there and wanting to get back out because of the bad smell.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by 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. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” (NLT)

This is a clear picture of what kind of fragrance is expected from God’s lambs. Sheep do not have the most pleasant smell about them especially when their wool is matted with mud, grass and sheep waste. Spiritually speaking our sin odour must smell pretty bad to God; but because of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, we have been made clean. Our daily choices should be a “Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.” Goodness and mercy are just some of the ingredients of that sweet wonderful smell!

“A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume.” Ecclesiastes 7:1a (NLT)

By Commissioner Debi Bell