Unmistakable Fragrance

If you come into my house, you will usually notice the aroma of freshly baked something.
At least that is what people tell me when they visit.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and the smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the air.
Even though I am used to the baking aroma, I am glad that it warms the heart of others.

When I buy candles, I usually get kitchen-y fragrances.
Banana nut bread, pumpkin spice, and maple syrup pancakes to name a few.
Those are the smells that greet everyone when they wake up in the morning.
Those are the smells that they remember.

I discovered something that can be plugged into the wall.
You attach a glass bulb that is filled with fragrant oil.
The heat generated from being plugged in releases the fragrance.
I have them scattered throughout the house.

They are all the same scent, so there is continuity in the fragrance.
I usually order them online so there is always a supply on hand.
I will bypass the fragrance of flowers, or ocean breezes and go right to the kitchen smells.
The fall season is when they offer those warm, baking smells.

I usually order multiple packs containing two bulbs.
I have a special closet in my laundry room where they are kept.
I had used one bulb and went to get the other one for another room.
I unscrewed the lid to insert the wick into the dispenser.

The fragrant oil was all over my hand.
The fragrant oil was all over the plastic container.
The wick was crushed and flattened.
This had never happened before.

The store from which I purchase the bulbs stands behind their products.
I decided to take the oily bulb back to the store and get a replacement.
For quality control, they would want to see the defect in the wick.
I put the bulb back in the box and put the box in a paper lunch bag.

I had a few other errands to do first.
The bag was in my hand.
I was at the register for something else I needed to get.
I noticed the smell of my kitchen.

I looked down at the bag and the bottom was oil-stained.
Splotches of the fragrant oil splattered the bottom of the bag.
Even with the lid tightly closed.
Even back in its plastic box.

The lady behind the counter asked, Would you like plastic bag for that?
I don’t want you to get the oil on your skirt.
She put the bulb that was in the plastic box that was in the lunch bag, in a plastic bag.
I could still smell the smell of my kitchen.

I walked along leaving that wonderful fragrance behind.
I thoroughly enjoyed walking and smelling the wonderful smell.
I wondered how many other people smelled the spicy kitchen aroma.
I wondered if the smell made anyone hungry.

I reached the store and put the bag on the counter.
The sales clerk took the plastic bag and removed the lunch bag.
She opened the lunch bag and removed the plastic box.
She opened the plastic box and took out the defective bulb.

Let me get you another one, she kindly said.
She went in the back and returned with another plastic box.
This has two bulbs, I said out loud. I only need one.
We don’t sell this one in a single bulb.

I left with two bulbs.
I left with more that what I carried into the store.
Abundance.
Kindness.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life. (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

We are like that glass bulb.
We have the oil of gladness instead of mourning.
We have a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61:3)
That oil of gladness wafts through the air as we live our lives.

The fragrance of life for those that are in Christ.
The smell of death for those who are not in Christ.
One smell wafting through the air.
Different reactions to the fragrance.

I imagined that oil of gladness as I walked around with the oily bulb.
Three different containers couldn’t keep the smell from permeating everything.
The fragrance was stronger than the container that held it.
So it is with us.

If we are in Christ, the fragrance of life is undeniable.
It cannot be contained.
I cannot help but leave His fragrance behind.
His fragrance is stronger than the container that holds it.

The fragrance of the knowledge of Him.
The fragrance that spreads everywhere.
The procession of the redeemed with His aroma wafting through the air.
His aroma everywhere we go, everywhere we put our foot down.

Unmistakable.
Compelling.
Unable to be contained.
God using us to spread the aroma of His Son.

What a privilege.