Around Oklahoma cedar trees are in abundance. They are a bit of a nuisance as they crowd other trees, but they do have value. The natural properties of a cedar tree make it an ideal wood for keeping things safe, as the hard wood both resists rot and keeps out insects. Keeping Grandma’s blankets or other heirlooms. this is done most often in the form of a cedar chest. The chests often become heirlooms themselves, for their durability, beauty, and the wonderful smell. A cedar chest might be years or decades old, but when you open it up again, that smell comes right back to life as if the tree has just fallen. God designed the tree so that it even when chopped down it keeps that smell year after year when maintained properly, and the properties of the wood can keep valuable things safe.
I thought of that recently as finished another book and put it on the shelf where I keep biographies. This book told the story of the life of a believer and pastor, and even though he had been dead for years, his faithfulness still filled the pages with the aroma of godliness.
A good Christian biography is like a cedar chest, containing the fragrance of their life long after they have died. Every time a page is turned, the smell spills from the pages and fills the air. While Christian living books are helpful, there is nothing like learning from the lives of those who have gone before us. Not only that, that biography can often stave off rot in our lives and keep us free from the “bugs” of life that threaten to get in and destroy what we keep safe. Often by seeing their faithfulness in triumph and tragedy inspires me to do the same.
This should not be a surprise to us, as the Bible is full of examples of this. The stories of Abraham, Hannah, Peter, and Paul inspire us in much the same way. While much of the Bible is instructional by way of teaching, the majority of it is education by way of the stories of God’s people.
One of the best things a person can do for their Christian walk is regularly read the stories of God’s faithful servants, both in the Bible and without. Even short stories of missionaries, homemakers, educators, pastors, and more are filled with the fragrance of God’s goodness in their live. Find one today and be reminded. Long after they have passed, their lives continue to smell of God’s faithfulness. Take time this week to read a story of a faithful servant of God. Start in the Bible, add a book, and smell the fragrance of faithfulness this week.
If you don’t know where to start in reading the stories of faithful Christians, I humbly suggest that the book I wrote might be a good place. It doesn’t talk about anyone you’ve ever heard of, but people that have a lot to teach us about faithfulness.