The Power of Perfume

Some people have a really distinctive perfume or aftershave.  Even if I was blindfolded, I would recognise them by their smell (in a good way). 

 

And sometimes this scent seems to relate to their personality or their character - it almost becomes a part of them. 

 

I love wearing perfume and thoroughly enjoy myself in Duty-Free squirting different scents onto those little card strips.  Different smells can evoke different emotions and memories - even of things that we thought were long gone.

 

Scent is powerful.

 

It's always a bit disappointing when you have put perfume on yourself and after a few minutes you can't smell it yourself anymore (this is even more annoying if it's expensive perfume).  But often, other people with whom you come into contact will be able to smell your perfume (and, sometimes, recognise you by the scent).

 

In the same way, the Bible describes our faith in God and our knowledge of Christ like perfume - a sweet-smelling and enticing fragrance.  It is something perhaps imperceptible and unnoticed by us, but something which catches other people's attention.

 

"Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ.  Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance.  Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognised by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life."

 

[2 Corinthians 2:14-16 MSG]

 

An aroma redolent with life.  A scent which bursts and brims and overflows with life.

 

Sometimes, even without us realising it, people will get a 'whiff' of the Kingdom of God and of His glory and grace and love and forgiveness, because of the way we live. 

 

Even when we don't feel particularly 'godly'.  Even when we have doubts and feel discouraged in our faith.  Even when we're not talking about God or 'trying' to share Him in any way.  Even when we mess up and fail. 

 

Because we have Christ living within us, we cannot help but give off this scent - an aroma which invites people to life.

 

 

Deep Clean

I am now back home after six days at Momentum.  And I am clean.  Properly, deeply, glowingly clean.  I have had the longest shower and have scrubbed and lathered and rinsed away all of the mud and dirt.   I have detoxed and I have deep-conditioned.

I am clean.

This morning, knowing that I would have a proper shower when I got back home, I made do with a liberal application of perfume.   Whilst it worked as a temporary fix, I didn't feel properly clean.  My fingernails were muddy from taking down the tent, my hair was  frizzy from the damp and my clothes were creased and crumpled.  The perfume made me feel cleaner, but not properly clean.  

It was a short term fix, but it wasn't a deep clean. 

Sometimes we do the same in life: we are more concerned with sorting out the superficial.  We spray perfume on the situation, rather than giving things a deep clean. 

Jesus spoke of something similar when He criticised the Pharisees for only caring about the appearance of things, for only focusing on the surface:

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!  You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too [...] you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.  Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness."

[Matthew 23:25-28 NLT]

 

It is always much easier and less time-consuming or costly to fix the outside of a problem, to give the appearance of having resolved it.  It is always easier to say the right things and pray the 'right' things, to spray perfume instead of washing the inside - cleaning our hearts.  We don't have to make ourselves vulnerable, we don't have to put in much effort and we don't have to face discomfort.

But we are not really clean.

And whilst other people might believe we have really resolved the problem, whilst we ourselves might believe it, God always looks at our hearts.

"The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

[1 Samuel 16:7 NLT] 

 

It is more costly and time-consuming and uncomfortable, but cleaning the inside - resolving the heart of the matter - is always worth it.