Believers are the aroma of Christ to those around them

Five believers were martyred. One of them, Mr. David Barratt, was said to be "a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." Even to the end, he was also known to be a person who loved people deeply and genuinely.

A young unbelieving widow, inconsolable in her grief and hopelessness for the future, was presented with an opportunity (that she took) to attend a Christian Women's Bible Conference. There she was much impressed by the joy and confidence the Christian women exuded.

John Wesley relates the meekness and peacefulness exhibited by a group of German-Moravian Christians in the midst of a terrible storm as they sailed for America. So profound was the effect of their response to the spirit of fear, that Wesley attributed it directly to his conversion experience.

The exemplary lives of two Christians; an engineer and a doctor, during the cultural revolution, was all the witness a young man needed to abandon the Chinese Communist Party and embrace Christ.

A woman was brought to faith, just by the prayerful life her Christian neighbors led.

Dr. Dwan is astonished at the love foreign missionaries continue to show his people, despite the vile things that were being said about them. Dwan eventually makes a life-changing decision when he hears that Jesus is the source of this love the missionaries showed his people.

Mrs Chang's deathbed scene - the courage she displayed, the peace and hope she had that she was heading to a better place was so profound that her husband, her son and his wife all became Christians. When her son's converted wife too was about to die, she displayed same courage in the face of death that a neighbor was led to Christ.

Nevisa struggled with the conflicting feelings of doubt and faith as she considered leaving Islam for Christianity, but the amazing lives and love among the believers she had come across, like a sweet smelling savour; kept drawing her, despite her doubts, to the love of the Jesus in which these believers basked.

When the story of a widow's generosity was read by Mr. Broomhall at a breakfast meeting with some wealthy believers, they were challenged to do more for God. So they gave liberally, like the widow whose story they had listened to.

A confused and troubled young man, filled with questions about life and God, finds all the answers he was looking for the day he honoured Mrs. James's invitation to dinner at her home. There he met Christians, full of life and joy, the very thing he was looking for. It took weeks but the aroma from their lives ministered to his soul and one day, he blurted out; "I simply can’t go to work today until I have what you possess!"

Emboldened by reading about George Müller's unwavering faith in God and Christ-like love for orphan children led Mr. Ishii of Tokyo, Japan, and a Christian evangelist at Nimwegen in Holland to likewise trust God and take up orphan work.

The transformation in Elmira's life had impressed her Muslim husband so much that when she feared the worst; having told him of her recent conversion to Christianity, she was surprised to find that he too wanted to drink from the same spring from which she was drinking; he wanted to become a Christian too!

Hudson Taylor's excellent management of the diversity among the pioneer set of missionaries he was travelling to China with 1866, his personal example and loving leadership was so profound that more than half of the crew members they were traveling with confessed Jesus as their Lord and Saviour even before they arrived their destination in Shanghai.

Lanju Gao was a Muslim sent to the Chinese government's atheist indoctrination camp, but instead of becoming atheist, Lanju became a Christian. And when tortured because of his conversion, Lanju held his ground; for he had seen Zhang suffer and yet not deny this Christ - he too rejoiced that he now served the one true God.

In a time of serious food scarcity when other prisoners were fighting over food and stealing each other's ration, Brothers Chen and Zhang freely prayed and shared their food together, to the utter shock of everyone. Their shining example was all Lui and Wang needed to come to Christ.

A husband wouldn't have anything to do with the Bible or Christianity even though his wife was a professing Christian. But as the aroma from her renewed life in Christ wafted through the air of their home, he took notice. Soon, he was on knees, pleading to become a Christian like his wife.

Carlos' new life as a Christian was apparently affecting his older brother Thomas. His life was like a pleasant fragrance and before long, Thomas asked to know what the secret was and was told it was Jesus. Eventually he too became a Christian!

Jonathan's life and the peace it radiated, was a strong aroma to Peter Nasser who was an unbeliever. When he asked Jonathan what the secret was, Jonathan's simple but very profound answer was, "Jesus!" In the months, that followed their meeting, Peter went on to learn a lot from Jonathan.

Fifteen-year-old Simon was throughout the duration of a peace camp, praying for his roommate who said he will believe in God, if only he got a sign. At the end of the camp, Simon was feeling deflated thinking his prayers were unanswered when Udi, his camp roommate walked up to him to say, "Simon, you were the sign from God!”

Moody shares a story of a young boy who was misbehaving in Sunday school, but Moody showed him love and kindness, which eventually led the boy to become a Christian. The boy's mother, who had previously resisted Christianity, was moved by her son's transformation and also became a Christian.

A young boy's courage in the face of persecution from his own father, was enough witness to his father. Soon, he too wanted what his son had.

12 year old Avis was so touched by the kindness shown to her family by a young missionary couple with very little means for a few days when their car broke down near Gallup New Mexico. Seeing God's great love at work through this couple sowed the fertile seed for missionary service in Avis' heart.

Liu, a noted gambler and opium-smoker undergoing rehabilitation is astonished at the joy and love that marked the life of the Christians who cared for him. They were poor; yet content, not drunk with wine; yet always cheerful.

While in the hospital, Nicky Cruz prayed out loud for himself. Through the prayers, God ministered to another man who was in the hospital leading him to pray too.

While in prison, Esther Chang yielded fully to God; allowing her light shine so well that she won many prisoners to Christ. And as a result of their new life in Christ, strife and disloyalty was replaced with great love for one another. So great was this new love and increasing unity among the prisoners that the prison authorities felt threatened.

Mary, whose faith in God didn't falter from sickness till death, was still winning souls for the kingdom of God in death.

Brother Yun, as a fragrance for the Lord was used to preach powerfully to his unbelieving cellmates. And like an aroma of God he was used to bring these hardened criminals to the foot of the cross.