What's That Smell?
So I stood there. Sniffing.
Strolling casually through the mall, I came to the section of those trendy stores that have replaced traditional mannequins with oversize pictures of 20-year-old dudes wearing nothing but jeans and six-pack abs. They usually have their hands folded behind their head for some reason, like they’re just lying there on a rock, by the ocean, in jeans, and someone happens to take their picture. Oh, and in an age of high definition color, apparently the photographer only had black and white film in his camera.
What caught my attention, however, long before I could even share a glance with the poster guy, was the smell. I thought I was approaching Bath and Body Works or one of those candle stores. None to be found. I looked around to see if I happened to be in the odor zone of a perfumed woman, but my nose told me the source of the fragrant air was the trendy clothing store.
So I stood there. Sniffing. Wondering why a clothing store needed not just to smell nice but to waft its pleasant odor into the general corridor. I started looking for some type of nozzles but gave up and, after a peek into the clothing racks out of curiosity, moved on.
And then I realized they got me. I was the reason they sprayed those hidden nozzles. Not because I stink, but because they wanted shoppers like me to pause for just another moment.
The Bible says that God “through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
God wants people to be interested in him by becoming interested in you. There’s something heavenly about you. Something delightfully different.
Why are you so cheerful? How is it that you handle your responsibilities with such poise? What was that comment you made about forgiving? Your work ethic. Your spending habits. Your Monday morning recap of the activities important to you last weekend. All of them waft a fragrance that make people stop and wonder, “What’s that smell?”
PRAYER: Attract others to you, God, through my faith in action. Spread everywhere the fragrance of life in Jesus Christ by using me and my life experiences, and make it a pleasant smell that people enjoy. Amen.