Last night, I was walking what has become “my route” – out of my neighborhood and down the street, past the elementary school, to the stop light, and back. It’s a nice walk with great views. Mountains in the distance, ocean breeze blowing, desert plants blooming all around…

But what I really kept noticing were the smells. Barbecue smells, laundry smells, someone-didn’t-pick-up-after-his-dog smells. The cooking smells were my favorite! I would walk past someone’s back yard, and my mouth would water. I seriously considered inviting myself to dinner, it smelled so good!

That made me think of our first night here. Our neighborhood was visited by a skunk. And we sleep with our windows open. Yep…nasty! The smell infiltrated my dream: I bought a new perfume I was sure I’d love, but when I got home and sniffed my wrist, the perfume smelled horrible. Like a skunk! Imagine my disappointment when I woke up and the smell was still there. It took a good three or four days before we were completely skunk-stink free.

2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “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.” (emphasis mine)

Did you know we, as believers, have a “smell”? When people are around us, walk past us, interact with us, they should get a whiff of Jesus. His smell should linger on us. When we walk around, we should be spreading that scent, permeating the air.

Unlike the skunk, whose smell certainly lingered and definitely was memorable, our “smell” should be pleasant — like my neighbor’s cooking. It should make people want to know us, talk to us, invite themselves to dine with us. Granted, some might find the smell of Jesus unpleasant. But let that be because they are offended by the gospel, not by our stinky, sinful behavior.

May we seek to be people whose aromas please God, honor Him, and draw others to Him. And if we start to get stinky, may we repent, “bathe” ourselves in God’s word, and seek the cleansing power of His forgiveness, so we can accomplish His purposes for us every day.