God’s Love smells better than Axe Body Shots - April 1

Today’s Readings: Exod. 7:8–24; 2 Cor. 2:14–3:6; Mark 10:1–16

I love this little passage, “thanks be to God, who in Christ…and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ!” Fifteen years later, I still can’t get the smell out of my mind of working a week at Kanuga Conference Center with middle school youth. It was the year that the body spray company, Axe, came out with those provocative videos which suggested that women everywhere were drawn to the smell of Axe. The videos were very suggestive and thirteen-year-old boys' minds where especially susceptible to advertising. And to top it off, the camp store just so happened to be selling “Axe Body Shots!” It was a sure revenue producer during Youth Week at Kanuga. Thirteen-year-old boys that had yet to learn the proper benefits of hygiene spent all of their summer money using Axe to cover up body odor and woo their newest friends. It is a summer that will live in my olfactory memory forever!

Smell has a way of bringing up memories and helping us to relive an experience. Think of the perfume of a loved one that is here no longer or the smell of someone special’s old home. I wonder what happens when we live out our lives in Christ? This image of conjuring up the sense of smell by Paul might suggest that God through us, through the way that we love each other, is not only a vessel for sharing God’s love, but actually helps people remember, relive, and be reawakened to that love that God has marked their life with.

It is a subtle difference, but as all of us look for ways to reach out in love during this time, it might be important to reflect that we are not only sharing God’s love but helping people awaken once again to the love that has transformed their lives. And as we yearn for connection, we all desire to know that same love as well. Let us go and share the Aroma of Christ so that our hearts may be at ease during such a stressful time?

- John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

  • What are some memories of yours that are attached to a certain smell?

  • In what ways can the love of God linger in the lives of others through the love that you share?

Daily Challenge

  • Find one way of reaching out in love to someone in need. If you need a suggestion, try this.

John Burruss