God wants us to have lives that exude the fragrance of Christ. One of the ways this happens is when pressure is applied to our lives. What should come out of us is His fragrance because we have been abiding in Him. If pressure brings out bad stuff then we have not embraced the cross, having our lives hidden in Him. As we count ourselves hidden and crucified with Christ, His grace and fragrance is released through our lives.
No Retaliation
…so he openeth not his mouth.
Isaiah 53:7
You may incur a bruised heel when you embrace the cross, because you will not fight back. But love will crush satan under your feet. This will propel you into greater realms of victory and faith!
Many times people do not realize what they are doing, but they are always your opportunity to rise higher in God’s Presence as you embrace the crucified life. Retaliation is not an option for those who are crucified with Christ.
Dead, Yet Alive (Galatians 2:20)
Those who are Christ’s have crucified the passions and desires of the flesh. As followers of Jesus we should fully embrace the crucified life. This is not an inward focus on self, but rather a reckoning of ourselves having been crucified with Christ. Because of this reckoning we live out Galatians 2:20 that says, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Where this becomes real is when we come to points of opportunity in our lives, opportunities to embrace His life rather than our own. If we can see Jesus on the cross with all that was thrown at Him in the moments that preceded the cross combined with the time on the cross, we see how He responded was not an act of self-defense or retaliation. Rather we see His life laid down with the response of love and forgiveness saying, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” The obstacles that are seemingly laid before us become the objects that are stepping stones to greater realms of glory. We see that once Jesus released this statement He then committed His spirit to the Father, then He was released from the body. God ultimately set Jesus at the highest place with all authority and power.
Overcome (Revelation 2-3)
There are points in our lives where God brings us to crossroads of opportunity to overcome, to embrace the crucified life. Love never fails. It is in these moments that God also brings forth the beauty of His fragrance in our lives. If we fail to embrace these moments for what they are intended there is a discrediting of all that we say and do. God’s forgiveness is always there, but if we never learn to identify ourselves with what Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross, laying down all tendencies for self-preservation, then we may never experience the power of His resurrection life.
When we look at the prophecy of Christ’s coming in Genesis 3, we see that His heel shall be bruised as He crushes the serpent’s head. There are going to be times when we will experience the bruising of our heel as we crush the serpent’s head. This is part of embracing the crucified life. Jesus did say that we must “take up our cross” as well. Over the years, I’ve heard people trying to change this to His cross and the scripture cannot be broken. But His cross becomes our cross as we follow Him. We are one with Him, being completely identified with Him in all aspects of His life. We do lose our life and discover His life.
Power and A Pure Heart
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Psalms 24:3-4
or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
Those who walk in the power of His Spirit must also embrace a pure heart, for those who don’t may not last in the call for the fullness God intends. There needs to be a love for God that manifests in both fruit and power of the Spirit. We absolutely need both. Those who have a pure devotion and purity before God must also realize the great need for God’s power with His desire to help people who are in desperate need. We live by the power of God. Power should not be a forbidden word among us. God never intended us to be His witness without His power. As our lives are hidden in Him we will be used as vessels of His glory crushing the works of the enemy.