Sweetness
Homemade brownies, candy bars, apple pie, birthday cake, and chocolate chip cookies all have something in common: they smell wonderful and taste delicious. We smell and enjoy eating food that is sweet. Just as our food can be sweet, our lives as Christians can be sweet as well. The Christian life is full of sweetness.
• Ephesians 5:2, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was sweet-smelling to the Father because of what the sacrifice accomplished. Since Jesus shed His blood for us, we can be born again into His family and be declared the children of God. God loved us to the point of sacrificing Himself for us so that we could benefit from His act of love.
• II Corinthians 2:15, “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:” We, as Christians, are sweet to God. He loves His children and wants the best for them, and He is joyful that His plan has accomplished our salvation. We can be sweet-smelling to others in pointing both the saved and unsaved in the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Psalm 104:34, “My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.” When we think of our Lord, the sweetness of His person and actions automatically produce gladness in us. Even the thoughts of God Himself are sweet to us because we love Him so much.
• Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” The words from God tell us how to be saved, how to live after we are saved, and what we have to look forward to for the rest of eternity. The words are sweet as a result of workable solutions to life’s problems and Godly instruction in living.
• Proverbs 3:24, “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.” The child of God has nothing to fear. God has promised to take care of us, and He is able to follow through on His promise. God will not allow anything too hard for the Christian to handle to enter his life. That fact makes even our sleep sweet.
• Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Words that are healthy and encouraging are sweet to those who receive them. Do our words help or hurt others? Are we building others up in their Christian walk when we communicate with them?
• Philippians 4:18, “But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.” Sacrifices for God, His work, and others produce a sweet smell to God because these sacrifices prove that a Christian loves God and others. The Bible tells us that God will not forget our labor of love that we produce for His glory.
May we experience the sweetness of God as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, enjoy His fellowship, and serve others.
