Is it me?

I stood in a crowded airport in a line of people, the air close and warm.  As we stood there, waiting to board, I looked at my fellow passengers jostling in the queue, their occupations and personalities manifested by how they dressed and by what they carried with them.  I heard snippets of conversation as if I was searching for a radio station, the dial moving from one station to another, catching only a phrase or two.  And then, I was aware of the pungent smell of sweat.  No obvious suspect appeared in my field of vision.

Is it me?

I leaned my head down to my shoulder and sniffed.  I wanted to make sure. No problem.  I had already bathed early that morning.  But whoever it was, left behind a legacy that impacted everyone around him.

The Bible talks a lot about the senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and yes, even smell.

When Christ is at the core of who we are, He changes everything in us. He changes what we see and how we see it.  He sharpens our hearing.  He changes our desires and appetite. He alters how we respond with love, grace and kindness. He gives us a new nature to wear.  His indwelling impacts -- in many dimensions-- everyone around us.  Even how we smell.

Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus
and wiped His feet with her hair,
and the house was filled
   with the fragrance of the ointment.

                                          John 12.3

When we worship Jesus
                        in all that we say and do,
our lives are filled with the fragrance of Christ.
A noticeable aroma lingers in the air,
       not like a heavy perfume that masks an odor,
but a refreshing legacy,
           a life renewed,
           a heart supernaturally bathed in the Spirit,
so obvious that others can't help but sense
         "What is different here?"
that which smells incredibly like Jesus.

...and through us spreads the fragrance
of the knowledge of Him everywhere.
For we are the aroma of Christ...

                            2 Corinthians 2.14-15

Wherever we are today,
       at home, at work, at the market,
       in delightful relationships
               or sheer difficult ones,
what fragrance lingers?

Is it me?
Or is it Him?