The first time I worked with a new colleague, she asked me if I was wearing a certain brand of perfume. Having used it for many years, I hardly noticed its scent anymore, yet she identified it instantly as the perfume her mother always wore. A slight whiff evoked pleasant thoughts of someone she loved. The scientific explanation for why we associate memories so strongly with certain smells is an aside to what we know from personal experience. For me, the mouth-watering aroma of apples, cinnamon and pastry takes me back to my grandmother baking pies in her farm kitchen, or the strong odor of diesel fuel conjures up visits to the naval ship on which my father served.
So what does the word aroma have to do with our calling as writers? The apostle Paul uses the analogy of a pleasant smell to describe how the presence of Christ in us is conveyed to those around us.
As far as God is concerned there is a sweet, wholesome fragrance in our lives. It is the fragrance of Christ within us, an aroma to both the saved and the unsaved all around us. (2 Cor. 2:15 TLB)
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Eph. 5:1-2 NAS)
As writers belonging to Jesus Christ, we are privileged to share the fragrant aroma of our Savior through our words. A pleasing fragrance is an invisible entity drawing those who experience it closer to its source. Our Father God leans near to breathe in the sweet savor of Christ emanating from how we live and what we write. He looks for the essence of Christ within us, rising as incense to those who are believers and to those searching for hope. By His Spirit He uses each of our unique writing voices, attracting readers to want to know more about His Son.
Paul’s analogy of Christ as a fragrance in our lives fits well with the way smell evokes memory. How often has someone asked you why you live as you do, or commented that there is something different about you? I surmise that as we walk and write in love, as imitators of God, the aroma of Him we carry with us stirs up memories in the people we touch. For those outside of faith, it is a primal memory of life before the Fall, deeply buried in every human. For some who have wandered from God, it is a bittersweet memory of what it once was like to be close to Him. And for our spiritual brothers and sisters, the fresh scent of Christ reminds them of how much He loves them.
Our words are not just marks on a page, they can be redolent with the essence of Jesus Christ. Whether stated overtly or communicated through value statements or narrative, the aroma of our Savior conveyed in our writing can effect life-giving change in all who breathe Him in.
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This is so beautiful! I never thought about it in this way.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amy! Sometimes someone else's thoughts on a subject or verse gives us a whole new perspective.
DeleteThank you, dear Valerie, for this lovely reminder of the aroma of Christ.
ReplyDeleteI especially love this: "Our Father God leans near to breathe in the sweet savor of Christ emanating from how we live and what we write."
Blessings.
Thank you, Wendy! I love the thought of God enjoying the fragrance of Christ we carry with us.
DeleteThanks for this lovely post on how we reflect Christ is like an fragrant aroma, Valerie. As I read it a second time, each sentence became a prayer to make my life and writing a beautiful aroma, pleasing to God. And I prayed the same for you.
ReplyDeleteI often go back to another line of thought on the fragrance of God. Psalms 25:10 in the Living Bible translation reads: "And when we obey him every path he guides us on is fragrant with his lovingkindness and truth."
Thank you for your prayers, Sandi, and for sharing the beautiful verse from the Psalms. I think God loves to guide us on fragrant paths.
DeleteWhat a lovely post, Valerie! I love the thought that we can emulate the sweet aroma of our Saviour!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tracy! Think of all the heady aromas we will experience in heaven, especially the fragrance of our Savior.
Deletevery timely! was just speaking with a friend about our lives and work being a sweet aroma - after talking about roses! then I read this post - lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dayna! It is a beautiful and apt analogy from the scriptures that I enjoyed contemplating as I wrote.
DeleteWow, Valerie. What a delightful post. I love the line - ‘he looks for the essence of Christ within us, rising as incense to those who are believers and to those searching for hope.’ Beautiful. What a goal and inspiration, to have the ‘essence of Christ’ for His purposes. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. I pray the 'essence of Christ' in us draws others to Him.
ReplyDeleteValerie, these words: "As writers belonging to Jesus Christ, we are privileged to share the fragrant aroma of our Savior through our words" captured me. It is indeed a privilege, and it is my prayer.
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