Fragrance of The King

​Is there a difference between an odor and a fragrance?  Certainly, there must be since "deodorizing" is such big business! The smells associated with a feeding trough for cattle may be missed in Scripture, but present nonetheless.  The King's fragrance may also be missed but absolutely noteworthy!  In Exodus 30, God instructed Moses to take sweet spices with pure frankincense and with great care and precision, make a pure and sacred perfume holy to the LORD (V.34-37).  Imagine it – a recipe for divine fragrance!  Oh, how I would have loved a first- whiff of The Savior's arrival that holy night: the Fragrance of Heaven lingering still with the Christ Child, aromatic traces of ivory palaces (Psalm 45:8), scents of a heavenly nature, perfume of eternal glory, a lingering sweetness of The Father.  Surely, sweet was the unexpected fragrance of the evening!  Believers are to be that "sweet fragrance of Christ unto God" (2 Corinthians 2:15), reminding the world of The King.  The group Selah sings: "There's a Rose in Bethlehem, with a Beauty quite divine - Perfect in this world of sin, on this silent holy night - There's a fragrance much like Hope, that it sends upon the wind - Reaching out to every soul, from a lowly manger's crib - Oh, Rose of Bethlehem, how lovely, pure, and sweet - Born to glorify the Father; born to wear the thorns for me."  Every day, may others know the Fragrance of The King in our presence.​