A Pleasing Aroma

For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15

Sense of smell enriches every experience of the world around you. Certain scents change your mood, transport you back to a distant memory, and even help you bond with other people. Everyone recognizes the scents of Christmas, cookies baking, odors of cinnamon and apple with ginger and nutmeg thrown in. The smell of newly cut lawns and sea breezes will always be the scents of summer to me. They evoke memories of childhood and happiness and freedom. But gardenias always remind me of my dad. in late spring or early summer, he would cut some of the creamy white blossoms from the bush in front of the house and bring them inside. Easily bruised, the blooms don't last for very long, but while they do their fragrance reaches into every corner, perfuming the space with sweetness. Perhaps in the same way, such a sweet gesture particularly from an unsentimental man, demonstrated a precious memory for him as they now do for me.

It makes sense then that Christians are to have a metaphorical pleasing smell to others, one that evokes a sense of God's presence and Christs love. Not showy or ostentatious, but a perfume that wafts into unexpected corners of life sweetening and refreshing this wary malodorous world. And all we have to do is let God's fragrance flow out from us like essential oils from a diffuser.