The sense of smell is a powerful thing. Smells are closely linked to memories. One whiff of a particular scent and you can find yourself transported back in time to a certain place or event. Memories, good and bad, are wrapped in scents and sounds that form strong associations in our hearts and minds. A study from 2014 suggested humans are able to distinguish 1 trillion different odors (discovermagazine.com, 2017). That makes for a LOT of memory associations! However, the vast majority of that olfactory recognition occurs in our subconscious mind; we are impacted by many odors of which we are simply unaware. Did you know that people have their own unique scent, much like the uniqueness of their fingerprint? I love the moment when I hug my kids or grandkids and inhale their signature smell, each one familiar...each one unique. Researchers also propose that scents can carry emotions and those emotions can be 'contagious' to those around you. For example, if you are watching something funny you may give off a scent that makes others happy. Similarly, you may detect a bad vibe if you enter an area where someone fearful had been standing a few moments before (discovermagazine.com). Our lives are surrounded, and apparently greatly influenced, by a barrage of recognized, and unconsciously recognized, scents. Recently I experienced the time-traveling effect of a familiar aroma on a long forgotten memory.
I enjoy taking walks, especially when I get to enjoy nature to boot. I had gotten rather lazy about my physical activity and decided I needed to get moving. There is a lovely trail at the edge of my little town that provides a suitable mix of walking space and natural beauty. A colleague had recommended this area in early spring. My initial jaunts found me surrounded by winter-bare trees and brown ground cover. But I didn't mind. The birds, squirrels, ducks and frogs didn't seemed bothered by the subdued landscape either. I quickly grew to love walking on the trail and listening to the every-changing nature sounds. As the weather began to warm, early summer brought evolving changes to the landscape as well. At first, I noticed small snippets of green as the trees began to bud. Then the brown ground cover gave way to shoots of green grass and weeds poking through toward the warmth of the sun. Every time I went for a walk, the scenery was new, different. Then, one day as I came up a hill I was stopped in my tracks by a beautiful, sweet aroma. Wait a minute! I recognize that scent....it was familiar, sweet and something I, unknowingly, had been missing! I took another couple of steps and there it was....a large honeysuckle bush.This revelation might not seem significant to you. But, the magical fragrance of the honeysuckle had beamed me back to my childhood home. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I could remember lying in my bed on a warm summer night with the window open to catch any breeze. Just outside my bedroom window was a lane that lead from the front yard to the barn behind the house. And on the far side of the lane were big, beautiful honeysuckle bushes loaded with flowers. At night I would lie on my back, perfectly still, and take slow deep breaths of honeysuckle-scented air. It was better than any perfume I had ever smelled! Lying there, enjoying the floral perfume I would often be serenaded by the distinct song of a whippoorwill. Honeysuckles and whippoorwills.....forever associated in my brain. I cannot remember the last time I heard a whippoorwill's song in the night, but the lovely aroma of the honeysuckle had stirred up a vivid, pleasant memory. The scent-memory connection was in full swing and I enjoyed it immensely.
So, as often happens to me when a subject catches my interest, I began to think about scents, aromas, fragrances....and the powerful role they play in daily life. The role of fragrance is not only important in our lives, but also appears to be important to God. After bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt, God had given Moses very specific, detailed instructions regarding the tent of meeting and how to approach God. Exodus 30:7 tells us,"Aharon will burn fragrant incense on it [an altar] as a pleasing aroma every morning; he is to burn it when he prepares the lamps (Complete Jewish Bible, CJB). Later in the same chapter of Exodus, God instructs Moses on the blending of the anointing oil. Verse 25 reads, "and make them into a holy anointing oil; blend it and perfume it as would an expert perfume maker; it will be a holy anointing oil"(CJB). I'm not sure what the fragrance of the incense or the anointing oil was actually like, but I would imagine that incense and perfumed oil designed by God would smell incredible! God enjoys fragrance. Leviticus 6:21 describes the grain offering, "It must be carefully mixed with olive oil and cooked on a griddle. Then slice this grain offering and present it as a pleasing aroma to the Lord" (New Living Translation, NLT). Numbers 28 mentions again a 'pleasing aroma to God 'when daily, Sabbath and monthly offerings are described. Sacrifices are associated with pleasing aromas. Time and again scripture connects gifts, offerings and repentance with the understanding that these bring a pleasing aroma to God. But up to this point, all these references pertain to worship under the Old Covenant when access to God was limited and allowed only under strict, non-negotiable rules. But that all changed with a Man called Jesus (Yeshua).
I have always been taught that the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, is a foreshadow of Christ and the New Covenant. In fact, everything in scripture ultimately points to Christ and God's marvelous plan of salvation. As always, Jesus serves as our example. "Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God" (Ephesians 5:2, NLT). There it is! The same language God used in the Old Testament when He instructed Moses on worship. A pleasing aroma to God...a pleasing aroma to God. As a follower of Christ, I am also called to be an example, an ambassador, a testament to the One who leads me. II Corinthians 2:14-16 puts it like this: "But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal process. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?".
As I thought about the perfume of Christ, I remembered another Biblical story about a woman with a shady past. Jesus was invited to dine at the home of a Pharisee (Luke 7). While Jesus was there, a certain woman (with a bad reputation) stood behind Jesus and began to weep. She cried so much that her tears wet his feet. The woman wiped his feet with her hair, kissed his feet and poured expensive perfume on them. The woman's act of absolute love and worship had brought tears to her eyes......but had also released a fragrant aroma that filled the room. A pleasing aroma....released through the sacrifice of worship. If you read this story in Luke, you will notice that there were two distinct reactions to the woman's behavior. The Pharisee was critical, pointing out the woman's questionable past. But Jesus was focused on her present actions, not her past mistakes. The fragrance that filled the room was from one perfume.....the same fragrance was smelled by everyone present, but to some it was pleasant and to others irritating. Notice also that the woman used her hair to wipe Christ's feet. Have you ever used a shampoo or fragrance that left a lingering scent in your hair? Do you imagine the woman left the room with the fragrance of the expensive perfume on her hair, her hands or her clothes? Do you think she carried a noticeable aroma with her as she left that room? Was her time in worship recognizable due to the lingering perfume?
I have thought a lot about fragrance as I studied these scriptures. And I have wondered.....what fragrance do I leave behind as I move throughout my day? Over the past fifteen years, I have been an unwilling nomad (in all fairness, partially unwilling). Follow my journey and you'll see what I mean. Starting in 2005: lived in Missouri, moved to Virginia, back to Missouri. Headed to Colorado, moved to California (land of my birth), then north to Oregon. Back south to Arizona, then all the way to Maine! Back to Missouri, then back to California, return to Colorado....one more time to Arizona, and finally, back to Missouri! I am tired just writing it. There is a BIG story associated with that journey, but that is not the point I want to make. In each location I continued to work, full-time. As you can imagine....I have met a LOT of people. Most of those people were in, and then out, of my life. But, I have made many friends and through the wonder of social media I am in contact with quite a few. So I have to ask myself......what scent did I give off during my travels? Was my interactions with others shrouded in a Christ-like fragrance cloud? Was the 'scent' of my presence pleasing to some and irritating to others? How do the people remember me? I mentioned the strong association between scents and memory. Did I give off a Christ-like fragrance as portrayed in II Corinthians 2? Or did I go away with a sour, unpleasant scent trail lingering behind? I can't say with certainty....only God can know the full answer to those questions.
Fragrance... a sweet aroma takes work. Perfumers work diligently to combine just the right ingredients to create that perfect scent profile.To benefit from the perfumers work and revel in a favored perfume, I first must spritz it on. Before I can enjoy the fragrance of honeysuckle, the bush must grow and bloom. When the priests prepared the sacrifices, incense and oil, exacting work was involved. Before the air was scented with perfume, the woman had to pour the flask on Christ's feet. Only after the woman's act of worship, did she carry the perfume's scent.
As I spend more time in the Word, more time listening with my heart...my hope is that the sweet perfume of Christ will be obvious in my life. Whether I am at home, at work, with my family or in any setting...may my scent signature be a pleasing aroma to Christ. Perhaps someone will say: Excuse me..what's that fragrance you're wearing?