How Does It Smell?

“Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus.” This speaks of its height and sharpness. Today there are too many Christians with a flat nose.”

The nose has not been spoken of until now. The faculty of smell is found only with the mature ones. In spiritual matters, many have bright eyes and sensitive ears. But not many have a nose that can smell. This sense does not come from spoken words or visible things; it is an inward ability that reaches beyond senses and words, which enables a person to differentiate between good and bad smells. This is a kind of spiritual intuition that enables a person to identify the things that are of God. It is not by reason or logic, but by a spontaneous and inwardly accurate feeling, which enables a person to discern spiritual matters. At the same time, this olfactory sense enables a person to identify bad smells as well. Many teachings cannot be considered wrong, and many people have nothing that others can find fault with, yet you sense that something is off. This sense is what the nose is all about. (Watchman Nee)

This seems a perfect picture of what it means to discern! The truth of discerning is that it HAS to go beyond words, beyond life experiences and what our human eyes and ears tell us. When a person is blind and they can’t see what they’re dealing with, they develop other senses that come to the forefront. The word about smelling is a clue about discerning. As a dog who is sent to track down people through a known scent. We know that the spirit of Christ has a fragrance. The scriptures speak of the “The fragrance of the Knowledge of God”  and also about how things smell to God. We’re learners searching for the right path to God’s kingdom. We sniff out the atmospheres, to locate the sweet fragrance of Jesus. For what strikes us as a right place to trust in.   It’s a “this is it!” knowing! I smell it in the air, I’m headed the right way!”…

Makes me laugh and reminds me of that old song “Searching “….Gonna find him, yay yay! Gonna find him, yay yay!”‘”