Making "Scents" ... and Winning by a Nose!

"But thanks be to God,
Who always leads us
in triumphal procession in Christ
and through us spreads everywhere
the fragrance
of the knowledge of Him."
(2 Corinthians 2:14)
A few Sundays ago, while sitting in worship service, I smelled something very strange. It was wonderfully sweet, yet it mingled with another incredibly putrid odor.

"Do you smell that?" I asked my husband.

"Smell what?" he replied.

Uh, okay. "Am I crazy?" I thought. "Am I hallucinating?" No one else seemed to notice it either, but, to me, it was unmistakable--extremely odd and pungent and glorious and ... stinky.

That day, my pastor gave a wonderful, Spirit-led message entitled "Are You Dead Yet", which focused on the importance of crucifying ourselves in Christ. I continued to notice the strange smell throughout the service, and I was compelled to pray about it.

The next day, the Lord led me to the second chapter of 2 Corinthians. Part of the Scripture He showed me, verse 14, is today's reflection passage (see above), but verses 15-16 really caught my attention: "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 ..."

Oh, my! Friends, the gospel message is incomparably precious and sweetly fragrant; it is the essence of Christ! For "those who are being saved", it is the delightful fragrance of eternal life. For "those who are perishing", it is the disturbing stench of eternal death.

Oh, my sobs catch in my throat as I type those words! It is beyond my comprehension that there are those who reject His life-giving grace. It grieves me beyond expression that there are those who purposefully choose death! It just doesn't make any scents! I mean, it just doesn't make any sense!

In the Old Testament, sacrificial offerings to the Lord are described as a "pleasing aroma". In the New Testament, Christ Himself is "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2). Resurrected from the dead as our Lord and Savior, Christ was never subject to death's decay (reference Acts 2:23-32, 13:26-41). As His heirs to life eternal (reference Romans 8:17; Titus 3:7), one day, "creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Romans 8:21).

In meantime, beloved, we exist as exquisite incense anointed by the Lord; through us, Christ spreads "the fragrance of the knowledge of Him". We delight some. We offend some. Some find the fragrance intoxicating. Some think we reek.

The enemy attempts to masquerade his putrid odor of death by appealing to our senses with enticing, artificial, counterfeit eau de toilettes, but God's pure and imperishable perfume of eternal life is unmistakable. We must pray that others will recognize His "pleasing aroma", that they will come to their senses, and that, in the end, they will win ... by a nose.

Precious Father, thank You for the fragrant and precious offering of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I pray, Lord that the senses of those who don't yet know You will be awakened! I pray that they would turn to You so that "the veil is taken away" (2 Corinthians 3:16; see also 4:3-4), allowing them to fully inhale Your goodness and grace. Continue to use us, Lord, to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of You. I pray in the name of Jesus, Your anointed Son. Amen.

" 'I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish ...' "
(John 10:28)
PS-After praying through it, I shared my olfactory experience with my pastor, who replied, "Kathryn, if you think my sermons stink, why don't you just say so!" :-D (He was kidding ... I think ...) :-)

How can we encourage and pray for you today? Please let us know by clicking on "Sparks Share" at the end of today's reflection, and scroll down to the "Comments" box. You may choose to comment anonymously, if you prefer. Feel free to leave your praises and insights as well!

Copyright 2008. Kathryn B. Wells. All Rights Reserved.