"There is something interesting in scent that we tend to forget. Scent is the worst of the human senses at conveying abstract intellectual information. It is the most primitive sense that we have and therefore it is poured directly into the brainstem, into the most primitive parts of the brain. Now vision and hearing are very, very good at conveying information. So works of visual art and works of auditory art can convey more information, and those works kind of a huge impact on us. But the impact is always more on an intellectual, more on a conceptual level.
Scent is the medium that in a sense has the greatest impact on us because works of scent don't go through a part of the brain that processes that abstracts that intellectualizes. Works of scent feed directly into us in a visceral way that no other medium can possible have and works of scent, in that way, are the most possible works of art that we can possible experience."
With this in mind, let us read 2 Corinthians together:
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
I believe Paul chooses to pinpoint the human sense of smell this passage. Yes, Paul does give a visual picture of a triumphal procession in verse 14. (Which by the way reminds me of the movie Gladiator for some reason, the big opening Roman procession which is most likely what Paul is referring to here in this verse) But for the rest of this passage the main focus is on the words - "fragrance, aroma, and smell".
Of the 5 different senses in the human body, smell in my opinion is the most raw sense. Like the article above, smell is a primitive sense one that is usually not processed intellectually unlike sight or sound (the two most used senses in my opinion). Think about a dog lifting his nose smelling delicious food and running towards the smell. Or think about the last time you smelled something delicious like from a bakery down the street. We usually don't take much time deciding oh that aroma or fragrance is a unique mixture of basil, rosemary, and nutmeg and it is located 500 ft away on Park Blvd. (Well, at least most of us don't think like that...) Usually, the first thing after I smell something is "Ah, that smells good" or "Uh, that smells bad". Right, do you agree?
Well, this is exactly what Paul I believe is trying to say here. As Christians, we are called to be the fragrance of Christ. To some Christians smell of abundant life and hope. To others Christians who perhaps have rejected the Gospel, we smell of death. However, what is most important is that we SMELL like SOMETHING. If a Christian has lost his or fragrance of Christ, what good are we in sharing the Gospel? If a person cannot tell you REEK of the GOSPEL than something is missing. In addition, a non-Christian should be able to smell the presence of GOD in your life. Not see it in this passage. Not hear it in this passage. But SMELL it. I hope this encourages you and me to be so full of Christ that no one will be able to smell us without being changed for the better.
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