A Fragrant Aroma

Has an aroma ever caught your attention in such a way that it elicited a distant memory, perhaps from years ago? During the holidays my wife places cinnamon-scented candles around the dining area, summoning pleasant memories of holidays and quality family time long past. Studies suggest that the reason for this trigger is the proximity in the brain of our olfactory center (responsible for our sense of smell) to the limbic system (responsible for memory). Of our five human senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—the sense of smell is the one most closely connected to memory.

In Numbers 15, we learn that as part of Israelite worship the Lord encouraged Moses to offer Him sacrifices. Six times the Lord described the various sacrifices as an aroma pleasing to the Lord (vv. 3, 7, 10, 13, 14, and 24, NIV). These were burnt offerings that gave off a very distinctive smell. Of course, in Numbers, these are animal sacrifices. The potency of the smell might be likened to that emanating from an outdoor grill during summertime. Still, the point is not about the actual scent, but what a fragrant aroma represents. When we honor the Lord through acts of worship it is pleasing to His heart.

God no longer wants His people to worship Him with ritual sacrifices. He did away with the old order, provisioning atonement through Christ’s death for humanity’s sin for all time: We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10). Even as Paul encouraged the believers in Rome: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship (Romans 12:1). Certainly, Paul is speaking metaphorically. The core of His message is salvation through the cross. Each day we have an opportunity to worship God, in response to what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf, through the choices we make and the way we live.

You and I no longer need to offer ritual sacrifices on a weekly or monthly basis. Christ’s sacrificial death is sufficient every day to cover over our guilt and wrongdoings. The blood of Jesus is enough for us today. Rest assured that tomorrow, when we make a mistake or bad choice, as all of us are prone to do, the cross will still be sufficient.

Lord, I give You thanks for everything You have accomplished on my behalf through the cross of Christ. I worship You today as an expression of that gratitude. May the way I live be offered up to you as a pleasing aroma.

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Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®, NIV^® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.