The Sweet Smell Of Suffering

The Sweet Smell of Suffering

Smell is one of our most powerful senses, connected to our subconscious memory in a way that our other senses are not.

Maybe like me, you can remember cherished smells from childhood—scents from places you’ve not visited in years. My grandmother’s bathroom had the sweet, cherry-and-almonds scent of Jergen’s skin lotion, which she applied liberally after every bath. The church I grew up in smelled to me like polished wood and Jungle Gardenia perfume—the signature scent of the woman who always seemed to sit in the pew just in front of us.

When Paul calls the Corinthian Christians “the fragrance of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 2:15, NASB) I marvel at his metaphor. Although their relationships were difficult and their circumstances trying, he envisioned them as a victorious parade wafting the incense of grace wherever they went.

Maybe today you’re thinking that you would be the fragrance of Christ, except you’re heartbroken. Or you’re longing for something that isn’t and may never be. Or you’re sick. Or someone you love is. Or you’ve lost someone immeasurably precious to you. Or you’ve messed up. Big-time.

If that’s what you’re thinking, the gospel contains better news for you than you could ever imagine: through the triumph of Christ, our emptiness can become abundance; our helplessness can become hope; and our failures can be exchanged for forgiveness, time and time again.

Peter denied Jesus right after he boasted to his Master, “I would die for you.” What kind of God would accept such miserable failure? I’ll tell you: a God like ours. Through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, our failures become acceptable, and our shame survivable.

Like Peter, we can move from failure to forgiveness. Because we are the fragrance of Christ. Empty, helpless, ashamed . . . we are the fragrance of Christ. His presence is the divine alchemy that makes a beautiful aroma of our suffering and shame and spreads the sweet knowledge of him in every place.

Today, may his presence create an unforgettable fragrance in you.

Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16, MSG