Smell – Thurs 5th July 07

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

The English word “smell” is unfortunate in that it conveys something unpleasant such as body odour or something unfortunate on the bottom of one’s shoe! Yet we have a sense of “smell”! So on the unpleasant side we use “smell”, “stink” and “stench”; while on the pleasant side we use “scent”, “aroma”, “fragrant”, ”bouquet”.

Our sense of smell is another wonderful gift! We can all appreciate a wide variety of scents:
· Coffee percolating
· Bacon cooking
· Peat burning in an open fire
· Scented, musky roses

Smells are so evocative and trigger memories, some happy, some painful.
A sense of smell can give great pleasure; yet it can offer protection also – the smell of smoke warns of fire. We use the expression “smell a rat” meaning that something doesn’t add up.

The Bible is full of references to smells, eg Noah’s sacrifice after the flood, and incense –symbolic of prayer - in the temple.

In 2 Cor: 14-16, Paul overdoses on the theme:
…through us God spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus. For we are to God the aroma of Christ. To those who are perishing we are the smell of death; to those who are being saved the fragrance of life

Taste

Taste buds are a wonderful part of our make-up and enable us to enjoy such a wide range of flavours. When Jesus was on earth He knew when to feast and when to fast. When He turned the water into wine at the wedding at Cana, it was commended by the MC! No dull plonk, only the best!

Our taste buds are for our protection also: we know when something is off!!
I’ll never forget a Sunday dinner years ago when I was living in Coventry. My housemate had been beavering away in the kitchen and had come up with a splendid main course. The rice pudding duly appeared, nice consistency, looked great. We dished it up, put spoons to mouths, spluttered and went deadly quiet until one of the group said: Ian, did you by any chance put in salt instead of sugar?

Psalm 34:8 says: Taste and see that the Lord is good