A Life Pleasing to God: A Sweetsmelling Savour

It is difficult to realize that a full five years have passed since the world was disrupted by the Covid 19 pandemic. I contracted the virus early on. In contrast to the debilitating and even fatal cases many experienced, mine was very mild. The only symptom I had was the complete loss of my sense of smell. Even the pungent smoke from a just-extinguished match was imperceptible. Covid completely eliminated my olfactory ability.

God wisely created man with five physical senses – seeing, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Most would concede that the last two are perhaps less important than the other three. Who would not choose to lose their sense of taste or smell rather than sight or hearing?

But that does not make the sense of smell unimportant. For me, its temporary loss was very disconcerting. Because the pandemic had just started, much of what was being said about Covid 19 was speculative. I did not know that this loss would only last a couple of weeks. And it was not until I lost my sense of smell completely that I realized how valuable this sense is. I missed the sensation of detecting and appreciating aromas and fragrances.

Some time ago, I visited a church member’s farm. As I looked across a newly mowed field and listened to the lowing of cattle, a wave of nostalgia swept over me. It was almost as if I was transported back to a time and place in my youth. I was at my grandfather’s farm in upstate New York. There was the old barn, a hay wagon, the vegetable garden. They were all so clear. But it wasn’t the sight or the sounds of the farm I was visiting that awakened this distant, detailed memory. It was the distinct smell of freshly cut hay. Amazing, the connection between smell and memory.

The sense of smell can also educate. It can warn. For many animals the nose is more important than the eye or the ear. A deer can detect a man nearby by smell, despite the hunter’s best effort at being still or silent. Even in humans this sense can save a life. How often has someone been alerted to imminent danger by the smell of smoke or the sulfur-like odor injected into natural gas.

Smell can arouse appetite and anticipation. Entering a home on a holiday to be greeted by the aroma of roast turkey or a baking pie communicates a promise of a delicious feast.

What a bland, forgetful, and dangerous world we would live in if it were not for the sense of smell!

Does the Bible speak to this matter of the significance of odors? Indeed. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians of the “sweet savour of Christ.” One translation has it, “the pleasant fragrance of Christ.” The gospel and Christian theology can be expressed in words. But there is an aspect to the message of the Savior that, much like a sweet perfume, must be experienced. Paul says, “we are unto God a pleasant fragrance of Christ.” (2 Cor. 2:15) This attractive aroma comes from the life of the Christian who trusts in Christ and follows Him. The joy of forgiveness, the increasing fruit of the Spirit, a sweet attitude, kind words and deeds – the influence of Christ in the life – this all gives off an appealing fragrance. It educates, reminds, elevates.

I came to Christ reading a gospel pamphlet containing Bible verses and an explanation of what it means to be a Christian. But it was the fragrance of my grandmother’s peaceful testimony during her final hours as she contemplated heaven that drew me. The pleasant scent of a kind aunt’s goodness, patience, and prayers gave the gospel an added attractiveness.

But the testimony of Christian virtue is not just a pleasant scent to others. It is a pleasing aroma to the Almighty. Like the incense offered in worship in the temple in the Old Testament, a humble, holy life lived in service to God rises like perfume to the throne of heaven.

What a great loss to the world and to God to be unable to detect and enjoy this most pleasant of fragrances!

“And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” (Eph. 5:2)

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David A. Oliver is the pastor of Ashley Baptist Church in Belding, MI.