What’s that smell?

The human sense of smell (Olfaction) is probably the most under-rated of our senses. Humans can differentiate between millions of odors. Did you know you can smell emotion? Things like fear and disgust produce sweat that betrays the emotion even if the person tries to conceal it. Our emotional response to others is sometimes an unconscious reaction to the way they smell, and I just don’t that sweet perfume or wretched body odor, either! We enjoy a great meal as much through the sense of smell as we do our taste buds! Women usually have a better sense of smell than men, but every wife knows that, right? By the way, your dog’s sense of smell is about 44 times better than yours.

The Bible says that God, “through us, spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 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.” (2 Corinthians 2:14, NIV)  Our lives should awaken an awareness of Christ Jesus today as we bear the distinctive mark of His love and goodness. Those who live and work around us will develop an imprint similar to one that a beautiful woman who is wearing just the right perfume creates as she walks through a room. Ask any man if he’s ever noticed a fragrance before a face?

Regardless of how much deodorant we put on, each of us has a unique odor that comes from our body chemistry. Our smell can be masked, improved by good hygiene (please!), changed by disease or illness, but we just have our own unique olfactory stamp.  Jesus creates a unique fragrance in us, too; one that cannot just be sprayed on in the morning! The sweetness of His Presence develops in us and becomes a part of who we are, making an unforgettable impression on others when we spend time alongside of them.  Some, the Scripture says, will detect Jesus in us and react to Him as one would to a beautiful fragrance. Others will recoil from His Presence in us like humans do to the stench of a decaying corpse.

The question is – is the smell of Jesus’ life on you, in you?  

Do you want to spread the aroma of Christ in your world?

Come to Jesus and let Him wash you clean.
Paul talks of the stink of sin that we once carried, but then tells us that "you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11, NIV)  Are you ‘clean’ through Christ?

Ask the Spirit to fill you with new life, a transformation that is inside out! 
Let love replace hate, joy replace sorrow, peace replace anxiety.  Remember, living in the Spirit is an ongoing experience, not a once and done thing. We are being “transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)

This new week pray to carry the beautiful fragrance of Christ with you. Pray for His Presence to be remarkably part of you. And, make a Kingdom difference for the glory of your Savior!

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Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,

All His wonderful passion and purity.

Savior divine, all my nature refine,

‘Till Your beauty is seen in me.

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