What’s that smell?

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.

2 Corinthians 2:15 (NLT)

My son with autism is very blunt. Comes with the territory, I’m told. Besides being forthright, he is also very sensitive to odors. Not just turn-up-your-nose-and-embarrass-your-mom type of honesty, but an undiluted gag-and-run-out-of-the-room frankness.

            I remember the day we went to visit a friend of mine. As soon as we walked into her house, my son said (very loudly, of course), “What’s that smell?” Turns out she was browning some onions in a frying pan. Not one of his favorite smells, as you might have guessed.

            Paul reminds us we are the aroma of Christ. “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.”

            As we spend quality time with God, through prayer and reading Scripture, we take on a Christ-like fragrance. He should so permeate our lives that those who know us can’t remain indifferent. Some will be drawn to our faith and want to know more, others will be turned off.

Personally, I don’t like to think I’ll be offensive to anyone. Yet God says we must not remain neutral, trying to please everyone we meet. If we are pleasant to some, we will stink to others. There is no middle ground.

May I ask you a personal question? How do you smell?

Thought: “Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation – an aroma redolent with life.” – The Message

For further reading:

• Ezekiel 20:41
• 1 Corinthians 1:18
• Ephesians 5:2
• Colossians 1:6