What IS that smell?

"For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and
among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the
other an aroma from life to life. " 2 Cor 2:15-16

There is nothing that I love more than some good perfume. I haven't been able to buy any since I've been here, mostly because it is three times the amount that I paid for it in the States. Now, I'm not usually a cheapskate, but 3 TIMES the PRICE is ridiculous. Lotion, bath salt, body spray, body cream- I have it all. I think I just like smelling good.

I think about those women at church- the ones that always smell. Its really strong, sometimes like an old lady, sometimes like a fashion magazine, but always very distinct. There are other scents that also bring to mind certain events, people, or places.

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  Any time I smell peanut butter cookies I instantly am transported to a soccer field in Little Rock, Arkansas. The field was located next to a cookie factory and the entire weekend, as we played, the aroma of peanut butter cookies wafted through the air


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  after living overseas, the smell of garlic on my hands will forever bring me back to hours of cooking in my small kitchen here


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  fresh cut grass- a summer spent working soccer camps, getting up early to play, staying late to hang out, getting tan the entire time

I got to thinking the other day about the fragrance that I put out as a child of the King. In ourselves, we pretty much just stink. Only with the Savior are we given the privilege of smelling the fragrance of Christ- and to think that we get to put this on, to experience it, each time we meet with believers, each time we open God's word. What a cool thought that is- to those who are being saved, the fragrance of life, to those who are dying, the fragrance of death. The first part, about the fragrance to those who are being saved, what a privilege. To be able to encourage and fellowship within the body smelling all good. To represent the aroma of salvation, pointing people to the Savior. Thats the kind of mission that I want; the thing that I signed up for as I came overseas. I was taught from years and years in Sunday School that God could use me in the process of salvation; thats exciting, the part of the work that I want to report each time I talk with people back home.

But I think there is another part, a less savory part, a part that gets little mention in our churches. To be the fragrance of Christ among those who are perishing- what exactly does that mean? I think its mostly an aroma of awareness- one that makes people more aware of their deadness, more aware of their sin. I've thought a lot about this and I'm not sure this is a fun or easy thing. Its something that really draws a line in the sand; it can be offensive, disciplining, maybe even damning. But can we say that this too is the kind of mission that we want. I've becoming more and more convicted that if I truly love the people that I work with, and I mean love them in the way that Christ loves the Church, in the way God loves His Son, then I should gladly represent the fragrance of Christ to those who are perishing.

I had that realization the other day, after reading a paragraph out of G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. My beliefs, my convictions, even my life stand in direct opposition to the majority of the world. It was really hard for me to say this out loud- as if that made it real, made it serious. But it is real, and it is very serious. The fragrance of Christ that we are given might not make us popular, but it will most certainly be a beacon- to those who believe and also to those that dont. And both groups need to smell the fragrance.

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. " Eph 5:2