Great smells can affect my mood. And bad smells can direct moods as well, just ask Meghan after I eat Taco Bell. I am a big fan of coffee! I absolutely love the the scent of coffee. I really don’t know why, but there is something about the coffee bean that can light up my senses. As long as I can remember I have always enjoyed smelling coffee. As a matter of fact I can remember in high school when I had an experience with a coffee bean that I will never forget.
For some reason, I was at a Kroger grocery store doing what every 17 year old would be doing at grocery store. I remember strolling down the isles, one by one. A particular scent brought me to the coffee, tea isle. Kroger had these machines where you can grind your own beans, which was all too fascinating to me. As I was exploring the flap at the bottom, I realized that I wanted to have one of the coffee beans. I did not know if I could just have one. And if I could have just one, I did not know if I had to pay for it. I was a little worried about the idea of taking one coffee bean just for my smelling pleasure. I did not know if it would be considered stealing or something. However, this inner controversy didn’t last long as I caught a whiff of that coffee bean.
I am greedy; at least I can be at times. As good as that coffee bean smelled at a distance, I could not help but wonder how it would smell real close up. As anyone would do, armed with that kind of wonder, I brought that bean as close to my left nostril as I could. I gave it a sincere sniff. Then it happened. Yes I know, I should have seen this coming. But as you already probably guessed the coffee bean found itself firmly in my nose. As a matter of fact after gold digging for 15 minutes, I realized I could not pick this thing out. It was way up there!
After realizing I was running out of options, I decided to give my nose a good blow. With elephant like force, the bean freed itself and flew out some where out in the Kroger isle. (Yes I was still at Kroger during the whole episode.) Feeling a little embarrassed, I quickly made my escape through the isle and out the door. I am just glad that I didn’t have to go to the emergency room.
Bad smells are exciting too! I will never forget a trip that my college buddies and I took my senior year. We took an SUV packed with 6 or 7 men, (If you could call us men) but either way it was packed. It was going to be at least a four hour journey from Parkersburg WV to Cincinnati Ohio to see the Reds play. That was the good news too. The bad news, I was stuck in a SUV with the most notorious gas releasers I have ever known. There we were, only 15 minutes down the highway, and the thunder started rolling. With no exaggeration the windows were fogging up with so much methane in the air. The driver decided to lock the windows, so fresh air was not an option. This was funny at times, and downright ugly at other times. Still this day, when I recall that drive, I can’t help but still smell that not so good scent.
I always think that out of all the senses, the nose is the forgotten one! The power of scent cannot be ignored. Every time there is a something in the oven that resembles decent food, are noses are the first to tell us. Every time someone created more road kill on the highway, our nose is the first to tell us.
I don’t think it is a stretch that God can smell too. We are created in His image. With that I mind, I wonder what scent that I have. At my best effort, I wonder if it is a pleasant smell. At my worst, I wonder how much of a stench I create. I also wonder when God looks at our churches, what God smells. Does it smell like roses when churches share with God and His mission at the food pantries and soup kitchens? Does God think that churches stink when the rest of the world knows what we are against rather then what we stand for?
I guess this is another way to challenge myself. If by thinking what I do creates a distinct smell, then I want to make changes. I do not know if I will always smell good to God. I do know that Jesus might smell pretty good. Maybe that’s another point. Left up to me, I can’t clean myself enough to get this stench off of me. Jesus is kind of a deodorizer. I have every possibility to smell good with Jesus. Because of Jesus, He allows my scent to light up God’s sense. It may be even possible that God smells fresh coffee beans when He takes a whiff of me, because of Jesus. It is my desire to reflect on the scent that I produce with the understanding that Jesus brings my scent to a brew for God.
I find great hope with in Paul's words to the Corinth church,
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so
many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God." (NIV)
-dj
