A Rose Among Cigarettes

On my way to McBIC this morning, I saw a peculiar thing while waiting for a green light: a rose was on the side of the road among cigarette butts. It caught me and my friends off guard; you usually don't see a rose on the side of the road. It seemed out of place. I had to take a picture of it because it was so peculiar.

My friends and I agreed that this would be good imagery for something. I soon thought of the phrase "aroma of Christ," and  it seemed to fit very well. So after we returned from McBIC, I looked up the passage. Here it is:

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." -2 Corinthians 2:14-15

 A couple things from this image. First, we are like cigarette butts, but God came to us anyway. I think cigarettes are gross, while roses are lovely things. One has a foul fragrance, the other has a pleasant fragrance. Jesus went to those whom people considered "sinners." He didn't mind hanging out with the "unclean" people. When questioned about this, Jesus said in Luke 5:31, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

And we we need to realize that we are all "unclean." Paul told the church in Rome, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) We all are separated from God (at one time, for Jesus followers) and in need of someone to save us from sin and death. "Self-righteous" should be equated with "self-deceived." No one has the capability to be righteous in his own strength. We all are (or were) cigarette butts, and we can't change that reality by ourselves.

Second, God, through a relationship with him, makes us a new creation. Imagine transforming from a cigarette butt to a rose. Talk about an entirely new identity! When we have a relationship with God, we become noticeably different. We have "life to the full." (John 10:10) Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Cigarettes are known to cause death, while roses signify love and life. The difference is significant.

Third, the roses (those with a relationship with God) are to "spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him [Christ]" to the cigarette butts. Roses are fragrant, and fragrance spreads. If you are a follower of Jesus, you can remember those "roses" in your life who spread the fragrance of Christ to you. We need to have "cigarette butts" in our lives so they can smell the fragrance of Christ in our lives.

In summation, the 2 Corinthians 2 passage fits well with this picture. Christ is leading our lives, we are confident and joyful from the transformation in Christ, and we spread the fragrance of Christ to others.