Scent

The other day I was in an old bank. It was funny because it had that old bank smell I remember from my youth. You see my father is in banking and I spent time in a lot of different banks growing up. I don’t know what it is, but older banks have a certain smell. I can’t really describe it and I don’t know what causes it, but this small town bank in Oklahoma had the same smell as the banks of my youth scattered across Kansas.

On occasion I end up in the town I grew up in. I stop by the library because my childhood friend’s mother is the librarian. It too has a certain smell. When I enter I travel back to my youth and I am 10 years old with a deep crush on Michelle Mitchell. It has changed a lot since my youth, and yet it still smells the same.

Scent has such a powerful ability to connect us to places, times and people. I was holding our youngest daughter last night and I realized I was smelling her. I was holding her as we prayed before sleep and I was enjoying her aroma. Surely I’m not the only father who does this? I find comfort and peace in the experience. It brings a smile to my face and a feeling that I am home.

This brought me to thoughts about God, and I realize that he loves my scent. He loves it for the same reason that I love my own children’s, because I am His child. What a comforting thought it has brought me today. When I pray God smells me, and He likes my aroma. He drinks me in His nostrils. He finds pleasure and comfort in my scent. Just as my children know they are safe when I leave their room, dad is here and all is well, I too feel safe.

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

The Church and Scent

The more I think about this the more I think churches have their own aroma. Now many of the small town church buildings of my youth smelled like mildew. Those basements just had that scent. I remember just feeling wet when I went with my grandparent’s. I just wanted to get in and out as soon as possible with a limited number of breaths.

I met a man this past week who has a Christian ministry in the area. It is run by former drug addicts and convicts. It is a wonderful ministry doing many great things in the name of Jesus Christ. As we talked he mentioned that these born again believers won’t go to a certain churches because they feel dirty and unwanted when attending. They feel like they shouldn’t be there.

I started to think about our fellowship and I started to wonder about our scent. It seems that this group puts out its own smell. No one said these men and women were unwelcome and yet they got that message all the same.

What does your church body smell like? If we give out a scent as a church, what would it be? How would you describe your aroma?

It would seem that Jesus had a distinct aroma, one that drew people in, and yet is our goal as churches to smell like Jesus? I wonder if the church today couldn’t use some aroma training. I wonder if we know Jesus scent.

“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:15

Are we consumed with the idea of smelling like Jesus? This is something I will have to ponder.