Thursday, February 11, 2016

Smells Like Bulgaria


In the first century, a well-know missionary named Paul wrote these words in part of a letter to Christians in Greece.

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

Living in Bulgaria, I have a new appreciation for fragrance.  You see Bulgaria provides about 70-80% of the worlds rose oil.  Rose oil is a key ingredient in almost every perfume, so if you are using anything to make yourself smell good (cologne, perfume, soap, you get the idea) then there is a very good chance that you are wearing something that came from Bulgaria.

Spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere is our passion.  Living here in Sofia, we live between worlds.  To our east lie countries where Islam is the prominent religion.  To our west, Christianity was historically the religion of the people.  We live in a former communist country, but we border the capitalist world.  We are a European Union country, but most of our neighbors are not.  We are a European country, yet Asia is just to our east.  People naturally pass through Bulgaria to get from one world to the other.  What better place could someone live if they wanted to spread the fragrance of God?


Bulgaria is already spreading its fragrance of roses across the globe.  In doing so, many lives have been improved.  (If you don't believe me, try going a week without using anything perfumed.)  Now it is our dream to see the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ go out from Bulgaria to change lives for eternity.

1 comment:

  1. That's interesting I didn't know that about the rose oil. In conjunction with your prior post, Ephesians 5:1-2 "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." That's why, because while we were sinners, Christ gave himself up for us.

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