I was shuffling a deck of worn playing cards the other day when I caught
the scent of my dad.
It wasn’t his familiar cologne smell. It was the distinct smell of the
oil in his skin. His smell was comforting to me. After he died, I had saved the
washcloth that protected the upholstery of his chair, absorbing the oil from
the back of his head. I saved this weird memento so I could still smell him.
With my mother, it was a robe she had worn a few times since the last laundry.
I’ve put the robe on when I just wanted to sit alone and remember
her.
The sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses. Research supports the idea that smell is the
best trigger for unlocking childhood memories. I believe it because every time
I empty the dirt out of my vacuum cleaner, I still go straight back to a scene
with my parents emptying a full bag after cleaning our church.
But the deck of cards had me stumped. Dad has been gone a few years and
he had never used those cards. How did his scent get on them? After repeated rounds
of gin rummy, shuffles, smells, and questions, my husband posed the theory that
the oil on my hands may be like Dad’s. He’s probably right again.
So I guess I share my dad’s scent in the same way I share many other
traits he gave me. To me, it’s a sweet smell because it’s his. To others, it
may smell like musty old socks.
The same phenomenon occurs with my heavenly Father. Paul told the
Corinthian church that when they spread the knowledge of Christ, it is like a
fragrance that smells like Him.
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. [2 Corinthians
2:14, NLT]
Yet this fragrance doesn’t smell the same to everyone. To some, it is the
sweetest life-giving aroma. To others, it carries a stench.
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 2:15-16, NLT]
I love that Paul acknowledges how inadequate we are for the task of
sharing God’s story. Sometimes we get discouraged that we aren’t doing enough
or aren’t effective at spreading the word about Jesus. Or that people think our
testimony stinks a little. Next time that happens, take a pause to remember
that you smell an awful lot like Him!
