Mmmm...the sweet smell of victory

I read that last post on the "king of all fruit" and it caused me to think. A couple years ago God blessed me with the opportunity to preach on the church in Smyrna found in Revelation 2:8-11:


8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

This church was not admonished for their lack of love or for being lukewarm. Instead Jesus tells them that there are some tough times coming their way (and that is an understatement). Satan himself was bent on torturing and persecuting this church until they would renounce their faith. They must have been doing something right. Better yet they must have believed in Someone right.

Now how is that for irony? Imagine that you are dying daily to your self and following in the footsteps of Jesus. You are growing in your faith, loving God more and more, loving other people. Sounds awesome right? Jesus comes and says guess what you reward is for obeying Me and loving Me...well, you're going to be tested like no other time in your life, you will spend some time in prison, and there's a high probability of death. Gee...thanks for the uplifting message. However, there is some good news. If you remain faithful...you will receive the crown of life and not be hurt by the second death. That's a pretty good deal since our lives are but a vapor in the big picture of eternity.

So how does this relate to smell? Glad you asked. As I studied this I found that Smyrna means "myrrh", a sweet smelling perfume that people wore and a fragrance used to anoint dead bodies. In order to extract this sweet smell, you had to crush the plant it came from and it would produce an aroma pleasant to the nose. What a great metaphor for the church located in Smyrna. They would be crushed down in persecution, all the while giving off a sweet smelling aroma pleasing to the Lord.

It's not about us...it's about God and His glory!