2 Corinthians 2:15 - You Smell!
We all have favorite odors, just like we have favorite foods. I love the smell of lily-of-the-valley and the smell of certain fir trees like Black Balsam or Frasier Fir. My wife has never smoked, but the blend of cigarette smoke, Coppertone tanning lotion, and Ponderosa pines carries her back to summer afternoons spent on Coeur d'Alene Lake where she grew up.
"Olfactory memories" can be particularly unforgettable, and may be associated with strong emotions.*
When I was a boy, my dad would come upstairs from his basement woodshop. He brought with him a blended scent of what I could call "honest sweat," pine sawdust, a touch of Old Spice cologne. Even now when I walk into a lumber yard, memories of my dad's presence flood my mind.
The other day, I flipped open one of my mom's old Bibles. Memories wafted upward as I turned the pages. Memories of sitting next to my mom in church... the page and binding of the Bible has its own scent. But the Bible still had a lingering scent of my mom's lipstick and Pep-O-Mint Lifesavers she carried in her purse. (A handy thing to keep a little kid occupied during church.) There was smell of pencil lead as she took sermon notes or underlined in her Bible.
2 Corinthians 2:15 (New American Standard, 1995) "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing..."
There is much that can be said about this verse, especially in context. For now, consider the phrase "we are a fragrance of Christ."
Does my life leave people saying, "Ahhhh!" or "Ewwww!" ?
Lord God, I pray that when I've encountered people, it leaves a lasting impression that they've experienced "the fragrance of Christ." Something that draws them to want to know You and to have You know them... intimately, personally. Amen.
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