Leonardo DaVinci once said, “The five senses are the ministers of the soul.” Every moment of every day we use these to help us navigate and experience the world around us. As scientists study the human body, we have gained a greater understanding of how each sense is used to help us gain information. Ongoing investigations continue to demonstrate how each one positively impacts our health and wellbeing. As a Christian, when I read or hear about some of these scientific studies I am often struck by the way God uses our senses to understand who He is and how He created us. This week we will take a brief look at a few of these and relate them to a familiar passage of Scripture to see how they can illuminate and refresh our perspectives.

“Odorprints and the Aroma of Christ?”

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

We all know that our fingerprints are completely unlike that of anyone else, but did you know that we each have a unique odorprint as well? When I first read this, I was fascinated but not that surprised. As a mom of three, I remember when my kids were babies. They each had a smell all their own. While holding them or rocking them, my husband would often laugh as I buried my nose in their necks and inhaled. I told him that I was sure I could identify each of their smells with a blindfold on. I knew them that well.

Not surprisingly, the odors we emit come from our genetic makeup, the foods we consume, our environment and activities. But researchers have also found that certain smells may actually indicate the presence of particular medical diseases. Special detectors, kind of like electric noses, can detect many different odors in our breath, urine or sweat that may indicate medical problems. Apparently the presence of liver disease makes something in your breath smell like raw fish while diabetes smells more like nail polish remover. Recently one study used these machines to sniff the presence of breast cancer as effectively as a mammogram.

If this research can be used in regular health screens, our odors can help physicians detect many diseases and disorders far earlier than before. This alone can dramatically impact treatment effectiveness and overall cure rates. But, it is not just the medical sciences that are interested in studying smells as they relate to our internal states. Social and forensic scientists want to know if our odor prints can tell us something about our intentions or whether we are harboring something. If “evil smells” are emitted when a person is intending to harm someone, commit a crime, or hide something, then they hope to prevent malicious acts and possibly even terrorist activity.

Even though all of this sounds like a bit of science fiction, it actually makes a lot of sense when you consider what the Bible says about aromas. Throughout the Old Testament the sacrifices made to God are repeatedly described as “pleasing aromas.” When Jesus came and died for our sins and “gave himself up for us,” He is described as a “fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). The embodiment of God emitted the most beautiful smell imaginable. As believers, indwelt by His spirit, we also release “the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Cor. 2:14). Whether a machine can ever detect evil intent or not, as Christians our aromas can be detected by others as Christ flows in and through us through word and deed.

Jackie