TBT: Kitchen, Sewers, and the Armpit of Jesus

In our kitchen, to the right of the sink, directly in front of the cupboard, is heaven. When I am there, for a moment, for an instant, everything melts away into a peace I can hardly wrap my mind around. It isn't the rack of baby bottles drying on the counter, nor the plans I have for consuming a snack. It is not the gorgeous 70s orange countertop, or the hum of the refrigerator. It is the smell.

I don't know the makeup of the smell. I think it is a subtle mixture of soap, food, and cleanliness...but it may be just plain magic.

Some memories we have seem to be carried in our very DNA. Hard-wired. And some of the most powerful are related to our sense of smell. I am sure many can relate, but growing up there are a few smells that I can immediately recall, and, if smelled, transport me instantly to the time and place I experienced them. The entryway of my elementary school. A skinned knee. And my grandmother's kitchen.

That kitchen...I have no idea how she did it, but that smell traveled across the country and across my childhood. It was a smell that meant a haven for me...great food, kindness, and a sense of profound peace.

Sioux City is famous for an entirely different kind of smell. Some refer to it affectionately as Sewer City, though the city is working to address the sometimes foul oder that greets visitors to Siouxland. I have heard many hurting folks who didn't like they community refer to the smell in a way that made a statement about the community itself.

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 2 Corinthians 2.15-16

That is admittedly a strange passage and a hard one to fully grasp, but apparently our words and lives have a smell, a feel, a rhythm, a vibe to them. Our lives can smell like Jesus. As God wafts out the stench of greed, self-righteousness, fear, and guilt, our lives take on a different aroma. His love, His life, His grace and truth in harmony...they can emanate from us like smells from my grandmother's kitchen or a city in need of good news.  

And who is adequate? Great question, Paul...always asking the hard ones. Too many times my life has stunk of death like the inside of a middle-school armpit.

I would settle for smelling like Jesus'. [Note: In order for Jesus to be fully-man, His armpits had to stink to high heaven. That's theology, yo!]

Who is adequate?!?! Only Jesus in us. Only by our connection with His life, death, and resurrection can our lives be salt, light, and an air freshener to the places we live. To the relationships we have. To the city God sends us to.  

What does your city smell like? What does heaven smell like for you?