Can I Wear Your Sweater?
I went back to school to finish my undergrad while my children were still in preschool. Night classes were a simple solution, but it meant some nights away from my children. So, during my breaks between classes, I would call home to say good-night.
My daughter was barely three years old and many times she would be upset that mommy was not there to tuck her in at night. I would remind her that Daddy was a good bedtime story teller and “tucker inner”.
My daughter would sigh and tell me, “But Daddy doesn’t smell like you”.
It is true that we each have our own fragrance. It seems to be as unique as our DNA. When we were first married, we had a dog who used to steal our socks. But she preferred to steal the ones that were dirty and smelled like us. I guess little children are sort of like dogs. I would come home at night and find my daughter wrapped in my sweater.
“It smells like you, Mommy”, she would tell me. Somehow my fragrance brought her peace and comfort.
St Paul calls Christ followers the “fragrance of Christ”. Christians are called to walk closely with God and clothe themselves with Christ. When we clothe ourselves with Christ, we smell like Him. And if we smell like Him, maybe we can help usher in some peace.
Therefore, let us clothe ourselves with Christ. Let us clothe ourselves with His compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, and patience. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, and let us become the fragrance of Christ.
As I see it we are to clothe ourselves with the kindness, gentleness, humility, compassion and patience of Christ. We are to follow Christ, we are to be more like Him. When we show all of these “traits of our beloved Christ,” if we truly love Him, if we truly are following Him, how can we not have the sweet, sweet, fragrance of Him? There is no sweeter fragrance to be found.