I’ve got to admit . . . I have it pretty good. I call Sue as I’m leaving work at night . . . drive 25 minutes . . . and, on most nights, when I walk in the door I smell supper ready to be served. Sometimes, I know what’s for dinner the moment I enter the house . . . other times, I get to play with the smell from the kitchen and try and guess what Sue’s cooked up for our evening meal as I walk down the hall. It’s a blessing to walk in the door after work and smell supper on the stove. But I’m reminded by Paul that it’s a greater blessing to bring an “aroma” into a place yourself . . .

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
(2Corinthians 2:14-16 ESV)

The fragrance of the knowledge of Christ . . . that was the air about Paul. There was a sweet odor that wafted around Paul as he shared the gospel . . . as he told of the good news of a Savior who died for men’s sins . . . of a Shepherd who sought lost sheep . . . of a Sovereign who was establishing a heavenly kingdom. It was more than the words from His mouth . . . it was the Word living in and through Him. Less about his oratory . . . more about his awe-atory.

Paul viewed himself as “the aroma of Christ to God” . . . a reference, I think, to the sweet-smelling aromas of the Old Testament sacrifices. Paul, offering his body as a living sacrifice, emitted a pleasing savor which rose to the portals of heaven . . . a fragrance of life, for those who had ears to hear (or, perhaps, noses to smell) . . . but a fragrance of death to those who would have an allergic reaction to the things of grace and truth.

And while I know that Paul writes specifically of his unique calling as the apostle to the Gentiles, I can’t help but make application to the guy sitting in this chair. How am I smelling? What’s the nature of the odor that fills a room when I enter? What scent is being diffused with my presence? What bouquet do I possess that others pick up?

And the question is so not about me in many ways. For “who is sufficient for these things?” Implied answer, “No one!” I can’t manufacture the perfume . . . I can’t fake the fragrance . . . but as Christ lives in me, so His precious scent is diffused from me. As I yield to the Spirit’s work in me . . . so the savor of Christ’s tender compassions emit from me. As God’s Word is taken in . . . so the sweet savor of God’s grace is poured out.

Who is sufficient for these things? God alone.

But shouldn’t we desire to “smell” a bit? Shouldn’t we want to bring an aroma into the room . . . the aroma of Christ? I’m thinkin’ . . .

By His grace . . . for His glory.