A Fragrant Offering

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Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:1-2).

My wife loves to cook. Some of her favorite dishes to make are ethnic: Thai beef salad, Korean pork tacos, and Greek chicken gyros, to name a few. My all-time favorite is Hungarian lamb goulash.

I always know when lamb goulash is in the works the second I get home. I can smell it when I walk in the front door. There have even been times when I could smell it through the front door. 

The aroma is fantastic; enough to make your mouth water instantly. 

There was once a time when God’s chosen people, Israel, made sacrifices to God in the form of food offerings. The Bible says these were “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 2:9); imagery that is meant to indicate God’s delight when these sacrifices were performed from the heart. 

The purpose of food offerings was twofold. They showed gratefulness to God for His goodness and were also a sign of one’s dedication to the Lord.

Through Jesus’ work on the cross, people no longer present food offerings as a way of showing our gratitude and commitment to God. Now that the ultimate sacrifice has been made on our behalf, we’ve been given a new way of responding to the love of our Heavenly Father.

God calls us to follow the example of Jesus, who offered Himself on a cross to redeem us from sin and death. This sacrifice was the greatest ever performed – an aroma that was surely pleasing to God (v2). Just as Christ gave Himself for us, we are called to give ourselves for others. This is to be reflected most specifically in the way we relate to one another. 

Honesty, purity, generosity, forgiveness, tenderheartedness, and kindness toward others are just some of the ways we get to show our gratitude and commitment to God. 

Most importantly, God mentions the way of love (v1) – the Jesus way – as the ultimate example Jesus gave for us to follow. The reason love is the greatest expression of gratitude to God is because it is the definitive expression of who He is. 

When we, God’s children, walk in love, we are following His example to the fullest extent possible. 

And in doing so, we become like Jesus – living sacrifices – whose very lives offer up to God a fragrant offering, an aroma that is pleasing and acceptable to Him (2 Corinthians 2:15).

Have you found walking in “the way of love” to be difficult in your pursuit of following Jesus? If so, try focusing on just one of love’s attributes this week, like kindness. Think through some ways you could express this quality in your daily life, and then ask for God’s help in seeing it through.

2 Comments

Thank you for reminding us of what pleases God. I received a fortune cookie that said "Kindness is the highest form of wisdom." I try to live with this in mind. Greetings and salutations everyone.
Thank you, Blake, for such poignant imagery in our devotional today! The idea that our acts of service, like your wife’s cooking, done with love for one another, can be like fragrant love offerings to God, is both uplifting and encouraging! I love this simple yet powerful verse. Thank you for your very fragrant devotional this morning!

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