As I began to write this post, my mind quickly goes to those crisp fall days of football, apple picking, the smell of crops being harvested and most importantly... PUMPKIN SPICE. I can remember walking out the back the door of the house and feeling the chill in the air, seeing the fresh dew on the ground and that smell that only the season of fall delivers. It's something I'm not quite sure any of us could explain, but Fall just has this soothing aroma. Each season tends to have a certain "smell" if you will. Fall has pumpkin spice and Christmas is cinnamon and pine. There's something about those aromas that remind of you those occasions. Food is the same way. There's nothing like walking into a house on Thanksgiving and smelling the turkey roasting in the oven, fried country ham, butter beans, corn pudding and homemade macaroni and cheese. Now, remember I'm from the country, so this is how we roll, and salt was not missing from any of those dishes! I'm sure you're wondering what in the world 'salt' has to do with the smell. We all know it makes the food taste good, but smell, really? All those amazing aromas that fill your senses when you walk in a kitchen as a homemade meal is being prepared, or as you enter your favorite restaurant, well salt is key in releasing those smells. Salt causes certain molecules in the food to release more easily in the air, heightening the aroma of the food. Fun fact of the day right? Let's revisit our scripture in Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV)  Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.  Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. So, Pass the SALT Please!
Since, we are to be seasoned with "salt", we should have an aroma! Not an odor, and AROMA! We all know there is a difference! Let's just say, I have 5 boys that all played sports. Those socks had an ODOR not an AROMA! There is something calming, peaceful, enjoyable about fragrant aromas. Isn't that how our lives should resonate with people? Our lives should emit a fragrance of peace, a sense of joy, a boldness of faith. Just like the salt does for food, the "SALT" in our lives should allow those things to release more easily.
2 Corinthians 2: 15 (NIV) says, "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." There should something about our lives, that when we walk into our work place, our school, or a situation, there is a pleasing aroma about us that is sensed by all present. Think about some instances in your life when you were faced with a situation, did you have a sweet aroma or an odor? Did you have enough "salt" in your life that when placed in the midst of those who don't know Christ, they sensed something different? Did they want to take a deep breath and soak it all in, or did they take a quick smell and want to exit the room? We've all had days where our life probably smelled more like the pigs that I raised as a little girl rather than the Yankee Candle Outlet! Can I get an AMEN?
Hosea 14:6 (NIV) says, " His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. I began to study and read about the cedars of Lebanon. The cedars of Lebanon have a resin that oozes out the tree. It oozes from the bark, the twigs, the cones and even the needle-leaves. The fragrance of this resin is amazingly delightful! This is so good! The word of God says, our fragrance will be like a cedar of Lebanon. We should be "oozing" with the fragrant aroma of the presence of God. His presence should be so abundant in our life that people can't help but recognize it! The Scripture in 2 Corinthians 2 tells us we are to be the pleasing aroma of Christ to those who don't know him... We should be the fragrance of LIFE! There is no candle company yet, that has developed a scent that is more pleasing than the Presence of God and we can have that aroma! Let the word of God seep deep into your heart today. Let Him begin to change your life in ways that you have never seen before. The areas in your life that you have left untouched by God, allow him free reign. Let his Presence and Word overflow in every part of your life. SALT it up my friend, and change the atmosphere in your realm of influence just by your AROMA!
