One of my favorite vacation destinations is Wells Beach, Maine. I have spent time there almost every year since I was a child. There are many entrances to the beach but the one shown in the above picture is my favorite. From the parking lot you must walk this long path to the water. It is a fair distance before you even get a glimmer of sand and water. I can take a decent picture but this photo isn’t glorious or inspiring, is it? That’s because you can’t use the sense of smell! Both sides of this long path are lined with salt-mist roses. In the early summer the scent of those roses permeates the entire walkway and it smells heavenly! It is not an overpowering or cloying scent but is soft and lovely.

A few years ago I was walking that very path while breathing in that aroma. I was anticipating my first view of the ocean and the Holy Spirit stopped me dead in my tracks and told me to “see”. What I saw was the entire picture of Christianity/The Church/The Body of Christ laid out before me. Let me elaborate. Each person must walk their pathway to God (the ocean in this metaphor). The journey can be long and arduous and for much of the time nothing can be seen. They are often carrying a heavy load and their tender feet take a beating while sweat stings their eyes. While a person makes that journey, we, the Body of Christ, are called to be the salt-mist roses and provide a sweet aroma all along the way as we beckon travelers to keep going until they reach their destination.

I see so many people weary and defeated because they think their job is to carry someone down the path to God. To one degree or another we all want to control something or someone. We take on the heroic mantle of trying to fix people or their problems. It never works because it was never God’s plan for any of us to be the Savior. The heroic mantle was and is always securely on Jesus’ shoulders. When we attempt to carry someone else or make the path shorter or smoother we don’t help. We actually just clutter up the pathway.

You and I are not meant to save or fix anyone. You and I are meant to be a sweet aroma all along the way. We are meant to be a hint, a scent, that something so much better is waiting at the end of the path. Let’s embrace our purpose and stop trying to do God’s job for Him. Let’s let our words and actions be a sweet and lovely aroma that hints of heaven. We are meant to be on the sides of the pathway, not blocking the way! Think of it this way…. if we try to carry someone on the path their feet will remain soft and weak and unprepared to appreciate and enjoy the grace of the shoreline once they have arrived.