“Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all scented powders of the merchant?”
— Song of Songs 3:6
To be perfumed is to absorb a fragrance and then to spread its aroma. Perfuming takes time. If it were a matter of being roasted, it might take less time, but you would not be able to endure it. To be perfumed requires a long process.
If you don’t want to pay the price to be perfumed and instead you run away from the perfuming process, you will only delay the Lord; He will gain you eventually. His intention is to gain each one of us fully until our entire being is perfumed with His death and resurrection.
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 212.
Tomorrow: “Perfumed by the Merchant” (3)