The fragrance of Jasmine

The fragrance of Jasmine

Have you tried the Jasmine tea before? Do you smell the fragrance of jasmine flower in the tea? Do you see the little white jasmine flower pedal floating in the tea? It was just that little pedal of jasmine flower that emits the aroma that madks it different than any other teas.

I thought I had taken a picture of the jasmine bush (this one is downloaded from the internet) at the Touch Ranch where we stayed for the W100 camp but I could not find it. Audrey, who is the resident manager/chef of the ranch, pointed out to me the jasmine bush in her garden when I was taking some pictures. Then I realized that I did not take a picture of the jasmine bush because the fragrance of the jasmine flowers was too strong for me. There were so many jasmine flowers, it is probably their blooming season. The fragrance was so strong that I probably did not want to get too close to them. I liked the fragrance of a few jasmine pedals in the tea but I did not like the smell of blooming jasmine bush. Why?

Matthew 13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

I think there is a lesson for us Christians here. Jesus taught us to be “Salt and Light” of the world as stated in the Gospels. So shouldn’t we Christians gather as much as we can so we can be the “Salt and the Light” of the world. Maybe not. What do you say to the cook when you taste the food is too salty or what do you do when the light is so bright that you could even open your eyes? I think we Christians are like the jasmine flowers sometimes. We gather in numbers and with our self-righteousness that we smell like a blooming Jasmine bush. The fragrance is so strong that no one wants to be close to us.

Jesus wants us to be the witnesses for Him. Jesus wants to use our life to show other people that He is alive and living in us. Jesus wants our life to become the salt and to shine our light before people. Let each of us be a jasmine pedal in this world of darkness and evil that our fragrance will spread.

2 Corinthians 14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.