Anyhoo.
We all know it as this glowing success, because most of us have it in our homes, and at bare minimum, when we are honest in front of ourselves we at least know someone who should have it in their homes, right?
It removes odors, and not just by masking them, but by making them go away. These days it has a very specific scent that we all know and can identify to the product. That smell wasn't originally a part of the product though. It simply removed odors... nothing more.
So when it first came out, it was a massive failure. Sales, "started small and got smaller" (Charles Duhigg).
Which is weird if you think about it. I mean we all have smells in our homes we want to get rid of. Who wouldn't want a product that takes away unwanted smells at the source? Who wouldn't want to stop being plagued by unwanted smells.
Anyone.
Well, except for those who get used to their unwanted smells.
Which is everyone. Most people get used to their own bad smells.
They no longer realize they are there after a period of time. Febreze wasn't selling because there was nothing drawing them to the product other than the fact that it got rid of smells most people don't realize are there. It's one thing to buy a can of Glade for the bathroom for temporary moments of stinky... its a different thing to buy a more expensive deodorizer for a long-term resident smell we don't realize is there.
Sometimes we lose track of our own aromas.
In many places in Leviticus, God explains through Moses how His people are to make offerings to God, identifying themselves as set apart for Him... and they receive many very specific instructions on a series of rituals through which they can do this.
And at the end of many of these instructions, there is this term: "It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD."
It doesn't mean God likes the smell of bacon. I mean maybe He does, and if I, being someone who really really likes the smell of bacon, was made in His image, then it stands to reason...
I digress. Again.
Honestly God likes the smell of us placing Him first in our hearts and letting it practically change who we are and how we do our literal every day.
Keep this in mind.
Later in the Bible, we see Paul draw from this and explain that even though Jesus has now died and risen for our sin and brokenness, to still make an offering or who we are... by saying in Romans 12:1 that we are to "...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God..."
Though our salvation is not at risk, our eternal security is sealed, God still desires for us to take and run with the spirit of sacrifice for Him by the way we do life, without all the burning of animals, fat etc on the grill.
Though that is a thoroughly enjoyable smell.
Now check out what it says in 2 Corinthians 2:15: "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."
God desires for us to be the smell of Christ to the living and the dying. I'm going to take a wild stab at assuming that means everyone.
It is hard for me to picture myself being the smell of Jesus for anyone, because I usually just smell a lot like a dab of Patchouli, my lavender bar soap and some deodorant.
And anger.
And maybe insecurity.
And maybe some jealousy.
Or a touch of wickedness.
Or maybe greed. Impatience.
Or straight up selfishness.
At Mercy Hill, we're slowly going through Colossians 1, and this week we find ourselves at the beginning of verse 10: "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord..."
There is no way for anyone to word-smith their way out of it. As a follower of Jesus, there is a demand on your life. A confrontation, if you will. For you. For me. To live a life worthy of the Lord. I don't know any other way of putting it.
He wants all of you.
And all of me.
And this is no small task... which is why Paul is praying for them. Not only is it because it is critical, but because we desperately need the help of God in giving Him all of ourselves.
So the question that I wish I had a friendly way of asking myself or you, is this: What do you smell like on a spiritual level? What do I smell like? Am I an aroma pleasing to the Lord? Am I the smell of Christ to the living and the dying, or have I simply been around myself long enough to not realize that I simply smell a lot like... well, me?
More to come. See you at Mercy Hill.
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