Smells better than bacon …

The ministry I lead serves people all around the world, but being a very poor non-profit we didn’t have any type of dedicated office for the first nine years serving people. Because of that, a portion of the work I do for the ministry was done in a coffee shop.

There can be any number of interruptions and distractions trying to get work done in a Starbucks, but there’s one that’s very strong … that’s when the piercing aroma of bacon suddenly permeates the entire shop.

Regardless of whether you’re hungry or not, the overwhelming smell of bacon makes you hungry for bacon!

Smells can be a strong part of the sensory data (sights, sounds, smells, touch) we take in, and it can impact us mentally, emotionally, and even physically and spiritually.

That smell of bacon might immediately spark a memory of childhood, waking up to your mother preparing breakfast for the family.

We connect sensory data to memories, emotions, desires, thoughts … all of which can be quite moving.

The Apostle Paul used this example of aroma being a significant and stirring experience when he describes the Christian life with the description of a smell:

“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God …” 2 Corinthians 2:15a.

The idea is that “Christ in us” has so permeated who we are that we, as Christians, smell like Jesus.

But let’s read that statement in context:

“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. 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. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 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?” 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.

In verse 14, Paul draws from the practice of incense being scattered along the parade route of a Roman general’s victory march upon returning from vanquishing an enemy. Accompanying the general in that parade would be his valiant warriors, as well as enemies who were taken captive and are on display for everyone to see. That smell of incense would affect the people in the parade differently. To the general and his soldiers, it was the sweet smell of victory; to the vanquished, it was the horrifying smell of defeat and impending slavery or, likely, death.

From that description, Paul says, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.”

Better than bacon, there is no better aroma to God than that of His perfect, holy Son. That’s how we smell to God!

To others, though, that aroma is different: “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?” 2 Corinthians 2:16.

For those who are rebellious to God and closed to the Good News of Jesus Christ, we may be odious because of the Christ-like fragrance emanating from our transformed lives. But to those open to the Gospel, those who “… are being saved …” and to our great and glorious God, we smell like Jesus.

That’s even better than bacon!

What does your life smell like?

Scotty