“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
To know God is to love God. “He gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by.” The closer we get to Him, the more beautiful He appears.
It was not merely the words of Jesus that attracted a following. His disciples “beheld His glory.” He was not only full of truth; He was full of grace. He not only spoke like none other; He loved like none other. John described the relationship of Christ’s closest disciples to Him:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
There is a depth of love exhibited on the cross that draws all men to Christ. How then do they still resist Him? They don’t know Him. They have not tasted and seen how good He is. They are blinded to the glory of His sacrifice.
What a glorious God appeared in our midst! The Psalmist spoke of the Anointed One who loved righteousness and hated wickedness. His life gave forth the sweetest fragrance: “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.” (Psalm 45:8) Those who also loved righteousness and hated wickedness were drawn to the sweetness and beauty of the incarnate God.
Would we be a sweet smelling savor of Christ to God? Would we reflect His beauty? Then there will be those who are drawn to the fragrance and beauty of our life. They will want to smell, see, hear, taste, and touch the beauty of the Lord upon us. They will be drawn to Christ in us. And if they don’t… if they want nothing to do with us… if we are a stench of death to them – they simply don’t know us.