S190P2 – The faithful bride: carries the fragrance of her groom

Song of Songs 1:12-14

While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.  My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.  My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.

The memorial service following my sister’s death was difficult for every member of the family.  I remember being practically inconsolable from start to finish.  I wanted to thank those who attended and to speak with them, but I felt as if I had no words.  From my perspective, I was useless that evening.  All I could do was cry and wonder whether my sister had made it to Jesus.  As the evening progressed, and the crowd dwindled, an aunt of mine pulled me aside.  She said that she could tell there was something different about me because I had been so calm.  She felt a peaceful spirit in me that grabbed her attention, and that was a surprise to me.  It could have been only the peace of God’s Spirit emanating through me because I felt anything but peaceful.

Each of us will encounter people in our lives who carry something we cannot specifically describe or put our finger on.  It is a common sentiment among lovers who are enamored with each other but perhaps cannot say exactly why.  There is just something that draws these two people together.  That mysterious something is what every Christian should carry.  There is a fragrance that we have through Christ that is designed to get people’s attention because it is sweet.  It is designed to draw the lost to the Church because she has something that they cannot quite figure out.  That fragrance is a natural consequence of her faithfulness, but the Church first must be faithful for this to operate as designed.  If that fragrance weakens or ceases to be, we know that she has lost her way.

The bride carrying the fragrance of the groom lets everyone know to whom she belongs.  If there is any doubt about that relationship, their shared sweetness should make things abundantly clear.  Jesus carried a sweet fragrance that drew the lost and sick and poor to him.  It drew even wealthy and well people to his feet in their various needs.  A sign of our faithfulness will be that those who are lost and in need also will be drawn to the same fragrance in us.  It is for us to follow biblical instruction on how to remain faithful to the Lord so that we can carry his fragrance.  If we are not faithful individually, we certainly cannot expect to be faithful corporately.  Father, lead us in your way so that we would be fragrant as your Son is fragrant.