By Mallory Mattingly
Atlanta Falcons running back Nathan Carter just explained what “a pleasing aroma” described in the Bible means for how we live every day.
“I love candles and the fragrance that fills the room when it’s lit. The mix of waxes and oils that compose various scents provides a pleasing aroma that is attractive to me and to others in the same room,” Carter wrote in on Instagram earlier this week. “In the Old Testament, the Israelites presented various offerings to the Lord, which were burned as a ‘pleasing aroma.’ These acts of worship represented repentance, gratitude, thanksgiving, and reconciliation with God.”
“However, God’s pleasure didn’t come from the scent itself; it was their obedience,” the athlete continued. “The sacrifices made by the Israelites served temporarily as a means of atonement for their sins, keeping them in a covenant with God. These offerings were acts of faith, given as a costly tribute, often their best animal, which would be burned up at the temple.”
He went on, explaining that the Israelites trusted that God would “be gracious to forgive them of their sins through the blood shed for their sacrifice.” This system, however, was only a foreshadowing.
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“Fast forward to Christ: Jesus became the ultimate and sufficient atonement for us. He died on our behalf, taking on our sins. He Himself became an obedient, pleasant aroma, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. The altar on which Jesus’ blood was shed was a wooden cross,” he said. “Through His death, we were reconciled to God, forgiven, freed, justified from our sins, and adopted into God’s family.”
Carter referenced several different Bible verses that explain the concept even more.
- Ephesians 5:2: “…and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
- John 14:6: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’“
- Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:15, “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
“Our lives and witness should proclaim the knowledge of God and the way to salvation through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). The reality is that how individuals respond to Jesus’ call to ‘follow Him’ (Acts 4:12) will determine their eternity. While we are not responsible for others’ response to Jesus’ call, this knowledge is a precious gift from Christ that we are called to share,” Carter explained.
“The good news of the Gospel is the sweetest aroma that could ever be proclaimed. Live your life as if this aroma has already transformed it, because it has. And, share the Gospel as if heaven and hell are on the line, because they are,” he concluded.
Like Carter, we should endeavor to share the pleasing aroma of the gospel with all we meet.
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