Aroma


Lev 7:11  "These are the instructions for the Peace-Offering which is presented 

	to GOD. 

Lev 7:12  If you bring it to offer thanksgiving, then along with the 

	Thanksgiving-Offering present unraised loaves of bread mixed with oil, 

	unraised wafers spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour, well-kneaded and 

	mixed with oil. 


	It's so wonderful to come home to the mouth-watering aroma of a meal being 

cooked. That smell of carefully seasoned meat slowly cooking and fresh bread or 

biscuits in the oven definitely confirms that you've arrived in the right place. 

The only real problem at this point is that you might have to endure the 

presence of this enticement as it infuses every part of the house. As the 

anticipation of the feast is finally gratified, though, and the desired food is 

devoured, there is this great sense of satisfaction in having that hunger, so 

intensified by the endurance of the smells, completely filled. 


	One part of the standard meal prayer that seems very appropriate to me is 

the prayer of blessing for the hands that prepared the meal. As wonderful as it 

is to partake of an awesome spread of food, it doesn't just materialize on the 

table. Even though there are all kinds of cooking utensils, bread makers and 

special pots and pans, there still has to be an assembling and depositing of the 

right food items into them. It's not enough to have just made the weekly trip to 

the store and set all the groceries on the counter, there must be a plan for the 

preparation of all those items and it must be carried out in such a way that 

everything is ready at the same time. There might be some instant meals that can 

get you by for a while, but there is nothing like the real meal that has been 

given the attention of some skilled and caring hands. 


	There is another aroma that is very desirable and greatly treasured when 

it is discovered. It is the aroma of peace that, very similar to the smells of a 

cooking meal, can fill every portion of a home with its goodness. Just like the 

wonderful meal, though, being gratified and filled by this peace doesn't just 

happen on its own, it requires skilled and caring preparation. I found in 

checking out some of the details of the Peace-Offering as it was utilized in the 

Old Testament, that it was actually part of a prepared meal that was supposed to 

be eaten right away. If it were allowed to sit too long, then it would have to 

be burned. It was also an offering that wasn't required for the atonement of 

sin, it was just a voluntary offering, initiated on the part of the worshiper to 

express gratitude and thankfulness. It seems, though, that in presenting this 

offering that there was preparation made for enjoying the desirable presence of 

peace. 


	There is a part we have to play in the pursuit of peace in our lives. It 

is not something that just happens upon us because we make a weekly trip to a 

church. There must be active participation in preparing the ingredients of the 

Word of God and covering them with the oil of the Spirit. Then there must be a 

gathering of the family when this meal is consumed together in an attitude of 

worship. It is not something that can be allowed to just sit for an extended 

time, but it has to be consumed before it becomes ineffective in our lives. This 

is not something that is required for our salvation, but to fully enjoy the 

privilege of peace that is ours in the presence of our Father, it will require 

our voluntary presentation of this peace offering. As we consume it, savoring 

its covering of oil, it will be ingested into our very lives, an aroma that goes 

before us as evidence of the glory that is ours to carry. 



2Co 2:15  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. 

	(Message)



5/13/04