God Has A Nose

On a trip to the island a few years ago, the youngest of the three kids was walking alongside me as we made our way up the road to the Chinese restuarant. Her little hand was tucked tightly into mine as we climbed the hill, both quietly enjoying the salt air and warm sunshine. A lady that lived on this path had just hung her laundry out to dry. As the sea breezes of Windwardside drifted past our noses, Sadie exclaimed with joy, "I smell Ms. Kelly!"  Kelly (or as the three year old Sadie pronounced it, "Ms. Telly"), was our dear friend and neighbor. The smell of the laundry detergent that was used in the Poston home brought a comfort and love of home to my little Sadie Bug. 

Smell.

When asked which of the five senses I couldn't do without, I always respond with smell.

As a little girl, my mother would tuck me in at night and the smell of her night cream would soothe any fears or anxieties of darkness and impending storms. When I went to college I snuck a tube of her night cream into my bags. Just the smell of my mother gave me comfort on the worst of days. To this day Mary Kay night cream is one of my favorite smells.

The feel of a number 2 pencil in my hand is essential in my life. But those that know me well, know that it isn't just how the pencil feels or how it writes...it's the smell. I don't know exactly why. Maybe it makes this teacher at heart feel confident and industrious. Perhaps it brings to mind the students that have challenged me and changed me for the better.

On Tuesday mornings, my husband awakes early to have a Facetime visit with a good buddy that is too many miles away to visit with any other way. They chat about life, study scripture, and both have a cup of coffee. When the Facetime session ends, Michael comes back to our bedroom and wakes me up for the day with a kiss. It is one of my favorite moments. The smell of my husband's face mixed with the aroma of coffee is the smell of love. 

I kiss my kiddos goodnight or goodbye as they get out of the car in the school drop off line. I always breathe in deep. All three have a different scent. I close my eyes and memorize the feel of their foreheads or cheeks. The smell of their childhood is etched deep into my heart and I pray forever into my memory.

The sense of smell can bring about a distant memory in an instant. A certain scent can bring a tear or a smile to one's face. An aroma can fill a room and comfort is given, love is felt, and peace settles within it's walls.

But the opposite can happen. Some scents bring displeasure and uneasiness.

The smell of a skunk can make your eyes water and nose burn. The stench of soured milk will turn a stomach. Some folks are taken back to times of sadness by the smells that fill a hospital or funeral home. The scent of a certain cologne may remind you of someone who isn't in your life any longer and that you miss.

The same sense that brings comfort, pleasure, and security, can also offer sadness, loneliness, and anxiety.  An aroma can soothe the soul...or it can ignite the worst of feelings.

God has the sense of smell, too.

The Old Testament takes us back to time of the old law, filled with alters, animals, and sacrifices. Many times through Genesis, Numbers, Leviticus, and other such books, we read of folks giving sacrifices and the aroma flowing up to the Father.  It soothed and pleased Him.  One time in Genesis after the flood the beautiful scent that went up to heaven sacrificially, even led God to promise to never destroy the earth by water again. (Genesis 8:21)

When Jesus came, and was crucified, and then was risen, the ultimate sacrifice was given and the old law was done away with. The new covenant between us and God has no reason for burnt offerings and alter bearing sacrifices. Jesus took care of all of it.

But God still has a nose.

"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

Because of Christ, we smell good. And that scent that radiates off of us as believers, pleases our Father. He is happy...He is pleased...He is soothed by the aroma that floats up to heaven. I can imagine God smiling as He breathes in deep the scent of the descendants and heirs of His Son.

Now I am sure there are times that some of us don't smell as good as we usually do.  That sweet boy of mine, yeah, sometimes after a football game or after a good run, I quickly send him to the shower. The water washes off the stench.

The waters of baptism continually wash off the stink, clothing us in the Spirit of our mentor, bringing about that pleasing aroma as we shake off the dust and dirt of sin.

That scripture in Corinthians continues to tell us that we are going to smell different to different people here on earth. To our fellow believers, we are the aroma of encouragement and freedom and salvation. To non-believers, sometimes our fragrance is a reminder of being lost and they may not quite understand where we are coming from and what we are saying. 

I had a candle given to me one time that I just didn't like.  I would open the jar and shut it, not at all pleased. But I kept trying, even to the point of burning it now and again. And I found as I continued to use it and return to it's fragrance, that it began to grow on me.  I even ended up buying another couple candles of that specific scent.  

So believers, take heart. Be sincere and speak His truth. Live His ways. Continue to allow His fragrance to radiate from you. Please the Father and have the hope your scent will grow on all of those around you.

I hope I am like Ms. Kelly's laundry detergent. I pray I bring comfort to the Father like my mother's Mary Kay night cream brings comfort to me. I hope God likes the scent of my actions the way I like number two pencils. Just as this mother and wife does, hopefully, as He breathes in deep the aroma of my life, He smiles and feels loved.