Lilac Encounters

I was walking on my lunch break the other day as I often do. The sun was shining brightly and every once in awhile a gentle breeze would blow when suddenly I smelled the sweet aroma of lilacs. The pleasant scent made me smile and I looked over and saw a beautiful lilac tree (do they come in trees? I thought they only came in bushes.) standing petite but strong in someone’s front yard. Aaah, I thought to myself, that’s where that delightful smell came from. I enjoyed the momentary lift but then forgot about it and kept on walking.

But a few days later, that lovely scent caught me by surprise again. This time, I was lying on the couch in my living room in the middle of the night trying to get to sleep. ( I only sleep on the couch if insomnia peaks it’s ugly head) The living room window was open, and a cool evening breeze occasionally floated through bringing with it the wonderful lilac aroma from the lilac bush in my front yard. This time I pondered the fact that twice in one week the delightful lilacs had shared their lovely aroma with me and cheered me up.

Then, just yesterday, I was unloading the groceries from the back of my car when a gust of wind blew and enveloped me with the now familiar scent of lilac. It made me smile. Here I was just doing my chores with nothing in particular on my mind, when the lovely lilac bush reached out and stroked my senses.

At that moment, the Holy Spirit quickened to my mind a familiar passage of scripture:

“In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.

This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No— but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.” (2 Corinthians 2:15-18 from The Message)

And that’s when I realized that God was speaking to me through the lilacs. As Christians who are full of the Holy Spirit we too give off a wonderful scent – it’s called the AROMA OF CHRIST. As we go about our day and rub shoulders with others, whether we realize it or not, the odor of Christ Jesus gets their attention – providing we are exuding his love and the fruits of the Spirit.

Oh Jesus, make me a lilac bush to all those around me! Help me to flow in the Holy Spirit and be a vessel that you can use!