It has been said that the sense of smell is the strongest sense tied to memory. A scent or whiff of something can evoke memories from childhood. I suppose this could be negative but I think of it in a positive way. The smell of bacon cooking in the morning, coffee brewing, fresh cut grass, even the smell of a diesel engine; all these conjure up pleasant memories.
There are two things in particular that do this for me. Both carry me back to childhood and I love the smell of both things. The memories are pleasant.
One smell is common this time of year and it cannot be duplicated. It is the smell of a freshly cut watermelon. As soon as the melon is cut there is a wonderful smell. I can remember so many happy times from growing up in the country. I almost always close my eyes after I cut a watermelon today and enjoy the brief moment.
The other smell is not seasonal but it is a favorite nonetheless. It is the smell of the heart of the stump of a pine tree. My grandfather called it “rich pine” or “heart pine” when I was a boy. It is the center of the pine stump where the sap has thickened into a resin that hardens the wood into a rot resistant material. It is an excellent source of a fire starter since the resin burns easily. I have several pieces of the heart pine at home with which I use to start fires.
My two young grandsons always like to smell the wood when we cut it into splinters to start the fire. This tradition is several generations old in my family and I am pleased to pass this on to them. I just love the smell. It has a turpentine smell to it and like the smell of the watermelon it takes me back to happy thoughts.
Recently while reading in the Old Testament of the many sacrifices that were required in the Mosaical Law I noticed the following. Of many of the sacrifices it is said the smell was a sweet aroma to the LORD. And the burning of incense was also a part of the sacrifices. Imagine something being produced by man that was a sweet smell to the GOD of all creation! Something that was pleasing to the LORD is definitely of interest to me.
Now we no longer serve GOD under the rules of the Old Testament and hence we don’t have the opportunity to offer the sacrifices and burning of incense that creates a sweet smelling aroma to the LORD.
However, we find the following in Ephesians 5:2, And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to GOD for a sweet-smelling aroma.
The Sacrifice Christ made for me was to GOD a sweet-smelling aroma. This is another way of saying it was pleasing to Him. And here we are encouraged to live our lives in love following the example of love that He set for us. So while I can’t personally offer the sacrifices of the Old Law as a sweet aroma to GOD, what I can do is live a life of love honoring The Sacrifice that was made for me.
Help me GOD to be more loving. Help me to be more aware of the great sacrifice that was made for me. Help me to live a life that in a sense will be a sweet smelling aroma to YOU.
And as much as I enjoy the favorite smells and treasure passing them on to my children and grandchildren, in a much more important way I want to pass on the love of things of eternal importance.