So We Say That We’re Christians, But What Do We Smell Like?

For some Christians, the last couple months have felt like a re-run of 127 Hours—the movie about Aron Ralson, the solo hiker who got pinned under a bolder in a Utah canyon. He survived, but only by cutting off his forearm with a pocketknife. Similarly, the legalization of same-sex marriage has left many Christians feeling pinned between two choices—lay there and watch conservative Christianity die or cutoff themselves off from culture. 

Thankfully, though, those aren’t our only options, because we Christians have more than knife in our pocket. We’ve got grace in there, too. 

To be a Christian, after all, means that we’ve stepped into God’s grace and set up home there. People should be able to smell that grace lingering on us. And, that same grace should motivate us do whatever it takes to keep the lines of communication open for the gospel. 

But, what if we lose our religious freedoms? What if the court had revoked Kim Davis’ title and sentenced her to jail? What if pastors who refuse to marry same-sex couples get charged with hate crimes? 

Whatever worst case scenario we can imagine, our calling as Christians doesn’t change. God still wants us to invite people to follow Jesus. How we do that, though, may need to change in response to the recent cultural shift. 

For starters, many LGTBs have been hurt by Christians. They hear our disapproval of homosexual behavior and think we hate them. And, like us, they don’t hear too well when they’re hurt.

So, if we’re relying on words alone to change what people think about Jesus, we’ll probably find those words crashing into an iron curtain—if we get the chance to speak at all. People standing on a battlefield of beliefs usually aren’t too interested in hearing from the enemy. So, we need to start thinking about how to engage peoples hearts, and not just their minds, because people who are entrenched in what they believe can still be swayed by their senses. 

Take my brother for example. As a teenager he hated coffee. Despised it. But, every time Mom brewed a cup, Jason would sniff the air, sigh, and say, “…but, it just smells so good.” Now, years later, he drinks the stuff like a champ. 

What if could find ways to engage people like that? What if we left the aroma of Jesus’ love lingering around our coworkers? What if we offered our neighbors and classmates a dignity they couldn’t find anywhere else—a dignity rooted in the image of God and the cost of Jesus’ blood. 

This can only happen, though, if we make real friends and get to know them deeply, so that they feel our love. And, that takes investment—buying them birthday gifts, asking about their kids by name, and getting them a Panera gift card when their partner is in the hospital. 

But, what if they refuse our friendship and put a wall up? Then, we need to keeping praying and looking for ways to break through. If we don’t, they might never hear about Jesus.

This was Paul’s attitude. “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor 9:22, NIV). What about you and me? If we claim to live by the gospel of grace, are people smelling it on us?

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