Advent Day Six: If Jesus Had Not Come, We Would Not Know His Fragrance

There was a time when people lived in pure delight in God’s presence. All was good until the people committed treason and handed authority over to an evil ruler. Feelings, sights, sounds, tastes,,and smells were no longer just for pleasure. Something putrid had entered the Garden.

What if Jesus had not come? We would not have the spiritual sense to know what was good or rotten. Oh, we might still discern physical smells, but the clarity of spiritual fragrances would be unclear.

But Jesus did come!

He was born as a Man and traversed the planet He created. As He headed toward the cross to give His life for a wayward people, Mark 14:3 records that His Father had a woman pour expensive, fragrant oil on Him. His Son was prepared for death, burial, and resurrection. He made sure Jesus went to the cross smelling like a King.

What does the spiritual sense of smell mean for us today? 2 Corinthians 2:14 says,

“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.”

Made alive, we discern between the fragrance of our King and that of the Serpent. Our warning comes from the rest of this passage in Verses 15-16a,

“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.”

Is the Gospel a fragrance of life to you? Or is it a stench that causes you to recoil?

Lord, please awaken our spiritual sense of smell. May many believe Your good news and choose the fragrance of life!