Dude, What's That Smell!?!

The other day I was out for a walk in Kyoto and I came across two such drastically different and yet similar scenarios that I had to stop to take some pictures, and that day inspired me to write this post.

The first scenario I noticed was outside of the famous Toji Temple in the southern part of the city. This Temple is very famous in the world, and is immaculately taken care of. The Temple is also surrounded by a large white wall and a moat. Many people make visits here every year, and many people pray here daily. And yet as I walked beside this temple there was a horrid stench that permeated everything. This stench was coming from the stagnant water that was in the moat that surrounded the temple. And as the people made their way into the temple, I could see them grabbing their noses, gagging, and/or trying to breathe only through their mouths. There was no ignoring the stench!

The second scenario happened just a few blocks away from the Toji Temple. I was walking down a very narrow street that was filled with various restaurants that were cooking all types of foods from all over the world. The smells were so strong, but the more I walked down the street I began to smell a sweet smell that was overpowering and ultimately permeating everything. The smell was fantastic, and so I began to search for the source. I eventually came to a side street, and a little ways down the street I witnessed one of the most amazing sights. I witnessed one of the largest rose bushes I had ever seen! It was so huge that it was almost taking over the front of this house! And the roses themselves were huge and were emitting the greatest smell ever. Many people were stopped in front of this house, taking pictures, staring in wonder, or just simply closing their eyes and breathing in the amazing scent! There was no ignoring this amazing scent!

The more I considered these two scenarios, the more I realized that these two scenarios really present a very realistic, and vivid picture of our lives. I know in my life that I have wavered from one scenario to the other.

I am sometimes like Toji Temple in that I seem to have all my stuff together. I look very polished and good, and I have a sense of religion surrounding me. People will come to me and start to ask my advice and seek my counsel as a pastor, and I at times develop this very religious posture of perfection and answers, sometimes apart from Christ. I throw around scriptures, and have all kinds of funny stories to relate to people and their problems, but ultimately the situation, and the gratitude and the praise and admiration of people become all about me. And it reeks! People may laugh at my jokes, and nod at the scriptures I share, but ultimately they will leave the encounter with a bad taste in their mouth, and feel no more alive or refreshed then when we first met. In fact they may even feel worse, because I had allowed my own pride to taint our encounter, and the desire to show off my own spirituality became of more importance then glorifying Christ’s name and seeking His glory. How many of you can relate?

In strong contrast to this, let’s look at the beautiful rose bush with it softball sized roses, and see what observations we can make. In the Song of Solomon 2:1 it makes a reference to Christ as a rose and a lily when it says, “ I am the Rose of Sharon; the Lily of the Valley” Isn’t this a beautiful, vivid illustration and picture of Jesus! When we make Christ the center of our being, and live our lives for him as both his servants and fellow heirs, people will notice, because we will be releasing the sweet fragrance of a Christ centered life. And just as the smell of this rosebush was able to completely overpower the smells of all these different restaurants, Christ in us will be evident to the world in all aspects of our lives, and will be able to overcome and be seen in our jobs, supermarkets, schools, wherever. And just as this rosebush and it’s amazing smell were able to draw people through the busy marketplace street to it, where they would bask in its beauty and marvel at its size, and appreciate its unique and amazing smell, so will Christ draw people to himself as they see Christ lived out in our lives. People will find themselves curious as to what makes us different, and they will marvel at our strength despite our personal weaknesses, and they will appreciate the authenticity of seeing Christ being more than a name we spout on our way to church on Sundays, but rather they will see Christ being alive and active living in and through a normal individual like me.

The choice is yours! And the amazing thing is we can change from one scenario to the other in the blink of an eye. Let’s take this picture to heart, and choose to live basking in the fragrance of Christ!

~Mike


Toji Temple:

Rose Tree: