Why would you want to smell like a skunk?

Right. You probably wouldn't. Skunks do stink. "Stink" though, is just an interpretation of a really strong smell. In fact, the very definition of "stink" is that something is offensive in odor. So offensive that it lingers....for weeks. People try to wash it off, dogs roll around in the dirt to mask the smell; nothing can take strong stench of skunk away.

And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2

Basically, we want to smell. Katherine, Allie, and I have each made a lifelong commitment to SMELL. We want to smell like God. Just like Christ loves us, we want to love others. The way we choose to live in our home as roommates and women who love the Lord is the way we choose to show Christ's love to others. I'm not saying we are perfect, EVER. Sometimes people don't wash dishes, sometimes people push jokes a little far, we are sometimes always human by nature. But, we are also redeemed and saved by grace, which are both very beautiful scents indeed.


I read a great book when I was in high school, and, even though it is written for teens, I still really love the way Steven James describes the smell that the three of us desire to have:

"The fragrance of their lives was different from the stench of the world. You could tell when you were with them. Their attitudes and priorities and lifestyles were different. They smelled like they didn't belong on this planet, like they were made for a better place. It was the fragrance of heaven. Strong. Powerful. Life-changing." Steven James - How to Smell Like God

Just think about all of the smells you've experienced in life! Fajitas at a mexican restaurant, smoke from birthday candles after they've been wished on, the fresh air after a sunshine rain, banana bread baking in the oven......You can recognize each of these smells from your life experiences. If someone placed a pot of coffee in front of your nose after blindfolding you, you would most likely recognize the scent immediately, maybe even the specific Starbucks blend! God created us to recognize different smells; He gave us different senses so that we could distinguish the differences we experience in the world. How crazy is that!?!?

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. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 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? 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 

God asks us to spread our smell around, to spread "the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere". I want to be a pleasing aroma to God! I want to smell good before my Lord! And I want others to smell me and say, "WHAT in the WORLD are you wearing, girl?! It smells gooooooood!". Not only do I want to smell like Christ, but I love the promise that other's will recognize us by our smell. Scripture tells us that others will know we follow Christ's example by our love. By our LOVE!

May you experience the fragrance of Christ in a new way today. May you never forget to use your sense of smell. May you never be able to wash the scent of Christ's love out of your life. And may you smell so strongly of the Lord's presence in your life, that people you encounter can't help but wonder why you smell so good.