What is that Fragrance?
My grandson was riding in my car with me and I let him smell the very small bottle of cologne I keep in my driver’s side door. He smelled it and said: “Papa”. I smiled because he remembered. My sweetheart wore that cologne that we deemed our favorite. I spray a little in my car’s air conditioning vents and take it in with memories of us AND to make my car smell really good.
There’s a scent that, as Christians, we should all wear. It is called, “eau de Christ”. Best fragrance EVER! “Thanks be to God Who always leads us to triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” 2 Cor 2:14–15
I want to smell like that! If ever we needed to smell like Jesus – it is today. Spiritually speaking of course, but the analogy makes sense. Scent is one of the most powerful forces we experience. It triggers memories (oh, yes it does) and it influences us to pull into a certain restaurant or grab a cup of coffee. Our sense of smell is directly linked to the emotional and memory centers of our brains. I remember the Wonder Bread factory in Tulsa. Every time we drove anywhere near it, we started salivating. In fact, oftentimes, I would pull into their store where you could get some of that fresh bread. The smell drew me in.
The reason God wants us to smell like Jesus is so that the people around us will begin to become thirsty and crave what we have – the Living Water and the Bread of Life that comes down from heaven. God wants people to see and savor our risen Lord who is alive and inside our hearts. People will be drawn to our LOVE walk and talk. They will want what we have and even smell like us! I’m dousing in His fragrance right now!
Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”