“What difference did the Christians in Corinth make in their community? Did their love for Jesus have an affect on their families, their neighbors, those they met as they traveled around the city? Do we at Grace make a difference in the life of our community? Does our love for Jesus affect our families, our friends, our neighbors, those we meet as we shop, dine, recreate? Paul used the terms "aroma" and "fragrance" in this passage. Those are powerful words. Certain smells, particular odors, are pleasing, they linger in the air, bringing positive memories and thoughts of a God blessed future. Think of arriving at the home of your grandparents. When you pass through the front door the aroma of a carefully prepared meal greets you. You feel welcomed, loved, accepted. But bad and offensive smells linger to. You enter a different home, you take a ride in someone else's car, you pass an unfamiliar location, and your sense of smell is under attack. One whiff is all it takes for tensions to rise and thoughts and emotions to go sideways.

How can we, as God's people planted where we are here in Yakima, do all we can to be a "pleasant" smell in all of the places we go and to everyone we meet? Paul calls us "the aroma of Christ." Does our Christian faith, our love for Jesus, change the aroma, the fragrance, of our life? Paul’s challenge hits us right in the nose.”