A victory procession .......... Parables 682

August 29, 2000

We planned to take our holidays one of two weeks in July; either to Boston when the tall ships sailed into that harbor or to Halifax the next week when they arrived in eastern Canada.

A wedding on the first Saturday kept us home that week. A family reunion the next weekend reduced our view of the ships to our television set. Yet even on a small screen, the sight of those majestic vessels sailing into Halifax harbor brought a thrill to our hearts. One by one they came, a stately display of power and grace, a triumphal procession of victory over the sea. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be on one of those ships. Those on the shore were moved and excited but what about those who were in the procession!

The idea of a triumphal procession triggered a memory. A Bible verse uses that same phrase to describe those who follow God. 2 Corinthians 2:12 says, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ.”

When the New Testament was written, this phrase was not about ships. It described a display of strength after a victorious battle. The general or king came home, leading a procession that included both the plunder taken in the fight and the enemy survivors who had been captured.

Being taken in battle as a slave sends shivers of revulsion down our spines, but being held captive by Jesus Christ has entirely different connotations, at least to those who belong to Him. We consider ourselves slaves, but as Bob Dillon says, “You gotta serve somebody” and Christ is a far better ‘somebody’ than what we used to serve.

While we may have thought we governed our own lives, our real taskmaster used to be sin. That is, whatever we did, we did it apart from God. We didn’t ask for or want His help nor did we think we needed it. Sin is more than stealing and murder — it begins with this attitude of independence. The Bible says “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.”

So we were slaves doing our own thing but God “captured” our hearts and brought us to Himself. That verse about the triumphal procession depicts Him as the conqueror yet the Bible says we are also “more than conquerors” because we have forgiveness and victory over sin plus eternal life in Christ. Being a slave of Jesus is a glorious thing because we are free from sin and its power, free to follow our Creator and Redeemer.

As we are led in this triumphal procession, God intends to use us. The last part of the verse adds: “. . . and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”

When the tall ships came in, the crowds on the shore were in awe at their majestic beauty. God wants people to look at the Christians in His procession and also be in awe, not so much at us but at the wonder of God who could take sinners and transform their lives.

At least it should work that way, but the next verses say: “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?”

Some people look at God’s parade of victory and see the glory. To them, we are the fragrance of life. Others see only a rag-tag line of defeated people who no longer can do what they want. To them, we are the smell of death.

Some cannot see the beauty of being in God’s triumphal procession, but that beauty is not merely in the eye of the beholder. Seeing the glory of it is definitely easier if you yourself are in the parade.