Right there in the middle of our face is our proboscis, beak, bugle, snotter, honker, or schnoz. Some might call it our sniffer, smeller, or snout. Label it what you will, we all have one and it’s a blessing from the Lord that we do. Let’s think about our nose for a moment.
Dipping way back into entertainment history, there was a guy named Jimmy Durante. He allowed his nose to help propel him to stardom. Known as the schnozzola, Durante had an unusually large, bulbous nose. A profile pic of him wasn’t necessary to notice the breadth and protrusion from his face.
Large or small doesn’t matter when it comes to the nose. Our olfactory capabilities are off the charts as humans! Scientists have discovered that “humans are actually better than dogs when it comes to detecting certain smells, and our noses can actually sniff out a staggering 1 trillion (yes, with a “t”) odors. The impressive nature of our noses is a relatively recent discovery, however, which may explain why the human sense of smell long got a bad rap.
“Nearly a century ago, scientists pegged the human nose’s olfactory abilities at about 10,000 distinct smells — not bad, but far less impressive than our eye’s ability to glimpse 1 million colors … In 2014, researchers from Rockefeller University in New York City decided to take a closer look at the nose’s true powers, and found that the human nose was much more capable than we imagined, giving the phrase “the nose knows” a whole new level of credibility.”1
Amazingly, our noses and memories are intertwined. A simple whiff of something can trigger emotions ranging from absolute euphoria all the way down to anger or fear. And we are evidently wired to smell petrichor. That’s the name given to the smell of rain, especially after a dry spell. “The smell comes from actinobacteria that release organic compounds known as geosmin into the air when it rains. What’s strange is that humans are incredibly sensitive to the stuff — our ability to smell petrichor is far more sensitive than the ability of sharks to smell blood in the water.”2
Did you know that God has a great sense of smell? And there is a particular smell He enjoys. It’s the smell of sacrifice. Numbers 28:1-2 says, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (2) Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.” The most pleasing aroma of sacrifice came from His own Son, Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:1-2 says, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” If the smell of sacrifice is a sweet smelling savour (aroma) to God, wouldn’t you think He is very pleased when we sacrifice for Him?
A perfect example of this is found in Romans 12:1. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Could I suggest that God is inhaling deeply? He wants to detect the scent of His church giving it all up for Him. Let’s fill the spiritual air with that aroma today! It’s what we were saved to do. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)
1https://interestingfacts.com/sense-of-smell-facts/
2Ibid.
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
