Then God spoke to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out all the living creatures that are with you – birds, livestock, those that crawl on the ground – and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. All wildlife, all livestock, every bird, and every creature that crawls on the earth came out of the ark by their groups. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animals and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, He said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, even though man’s inclination is evil from his youth. And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.” Genesis 8:15-22
Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1
My words…
Praise
Lord, I doubt You have had many prayers lifted toward heaven regarding Your nose. Your face, eyes, and ears? Yes. Your nose? Probably not. But I have been meditating on Your nose – what You find pleasing and repulsive to smell. A long time ago, You shared with Your creation an acceptable way to worship, and it involved Your nose. Build an altar, place on it a sacrifice, and set it on fire. Where there is fire – there’s smoke. Smoke never falls – it always rises. And it always carries with it an odor. I have never smelled burning fur, skin, or feathers, but it doesn’t matter what it smells like to me. It matters what it smells like to You. The odor could be offensive to me but lovely to You because what You smell is not burning fur, skin, or feathers. You smell worship. You smell obedience. You smell submission. And to You, that is more pleasing than blooming lilacs, fine spices, or the smell of a newborn’s breath.
Prayer for me
You do not call me to build an altar, kill an animal or bird and set it on fire. Jesus was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. So now, You are pleased by the odor of a living sacrifice – my thoughts and actions offered to You as worship in obedience and submission. Not often enough, though. Not intense enough, either.
Forgive me
I know that my sacrifice to You sometimes smells like garbage. It’s not sincere. It’s offered lightly, with indifference, frustration, or even anger. Forgive me for not offering You the choicest, cleanest part of myself.
Thank You
I am so thankful for the fact that the sweet, pleasing aroma of Jesus’ sacrifice rises to You still. It permeates heaven, chasing away the repugnant odor of my faltering attempt at sacrifice.
More Praise
You are changeless. You are the One who accepted Noah’s sacrifice, and You accept mine. The methods may differ, but You welcome the fragrant smell of self-sacrificing worship from any who offer it – devout men and women, innocent children, martyrs, evangelists, prophets, teachers, all of creation! How sweet heaven must smell!
