2 Corinthians 2:14-15 – But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. (NRSV)

We acknowledge ourselves as being called upon to be representatives of Christ or ambassadors of Christ, but to be the aroma of Christ? Doesn't that sound a little bit strange?

Experts tell us that distinctive smells have more power than any other sense to help us recall distant memories. French novelist, critic, and essayist Marcel Proust (1871-1922) in his novel A la recherche du temps perdu (In search of lost time, translated previously as Remembrance of things past) describes a character vividly recalling long-forgotten memories from his childhood after smelling a tea-soaked biscuit. It's a phenomenon that we all experience. One of mine is that whenever I smell new gum rubber boots in a department store display, my thoughts inevitably go back to the time when, as kids, we happily navigated the muddy roads and puddles of spring on our way to and from school following the end of another interminably long and bitter northern Saskatchewan winter. So for a few seconds, I am again a carefree child daringly testing the depth of the puddles against the height of my gum rubber boots! Maybe my boyhood exuberance will be buoyed even further by spotting an early-returning crow or horned lark!

So, in the context of aromas attracting people to or reminding them of something, for us who have experienced in our own lives the "fragrance" that comes from knowing Jesus, being identified as "the aroma of Christ" makes perfect sense. By our example in our day-to-day living, echoing what we feel in our own hearts, we have the opportunity and indeed the privilege of being the fragrance of Christ to those persons with whom we daily come in contact and thus reminding them of Him.

Prayer: Guide us, Lord, so that our aroma may always be a positive one. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share on Facebook

About the author: