Scent of Salvation

Tents of Mercy Congregation

Kiryat Yam, Israel

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in the Messiah, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of the Messiah among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

On our tenth wedding anniversary, we took the honeymoon that we hadn’t taken after our wedding and went to Italy for a ten-day Tuscan vacation.

Plans made, tickets purchased, and accommodations reserved – we flew into Rome for what we fantasized would be the dream honeymoon we never had. Full of anticipation and eager to partake of all Italy had to offer, we convinced ourselves that my seven-month large pregnant belly and Avi not having an international driver’s license due to a bureaucratic hiccup of strikes in the weeks leading up to our trip…would not impact the success of our long-awaited Italian tour!

After two days in a tiny Airbnb in the Roman suburbs, we were weary of the confusing public transportation system and the cool weather. We had enjoyed some sweet moments in the Rome-antic city; but by the time we got out of the metropolitan area, tensions were running a little high.

As I drove the rental car out into the Italian country-side, doing my best to focus on Avi’s navigating instructions, as well as prepare my next comeback in the spat we were having… he suddenly told me to pull over.

We stopped the car and stepped out into the sweet Tuscan air. “Do you smell that?” he asked. An olive tree grove flanked the side of the road, and the sweet aroma of oregano was heavy in the air. Smiling at me, he added “How can we fight, with this beautiful view and the fragrance of pasta sauce floating in the air?!”

That was one of those epic moments in our life, and I have often thought about why it was so significant. The sense of smell is a powerful thing. It can take us back to moments in our life we don’t even know we remember. It connects us with people and places and can elicit strong emotions for good and for bad.

As a mom, my sense of smell is crucial to taking care of my family. As a devout cook and “foodie,” my sense of smell is critical. It’s as important as my hands and eyes in creating and experiencing food. God has seeded the globe with different plants and herbs. Each land and people has been perfumed with a unique scent, impacting each country’s cuisine in a delightful way! What a glorious God we serve who has created herbs for our pleasure and health. Herbs contribute flavor and fragrance wherever they are, and I can’t help but think of the verses quoted above.

Paul was no stranger to the Mediterranean climate. Perhaps he was inspired to write those verses by the fragrant herbs he encountered in his travels. He must have seen and smelled the perky green pompoms of thyme on the Greek islands, adorning the breeze with a floral yet spicy fragrance. He could have experienced the beauty of endless purple fields of lavender, rolling over Grecian hills, filling the air with their flowery aroma. Maybe he stopped beside a mountain stream as he walked to Phillipi, sipping cool water and snacking on leaves of wild arugula tucked between the rocks beside the stream, its peppery scent wafting up like a wordless invitation to eat of the “stream-side salad.”

Here in the Galilee, the Bible-time believers must have also foraged the wild hyssop that grows on every slope and in every forest. It still anchors the Israeli spice mixture called zahtar. On hikes in the Carmel mountains we munch on the plump, water-storing leaves that help it thrive in the rocky, dry soil. This reminds me of the kind of heart that can bear the fragrance of the Messiah: not perfect, but willing, prepared, and able to hold on to the living water that gives life.

Something all these Mediterranean herbs have in common is that they are hardy. They don’t just survive — they spread, cling, and perfume everything around them. That’s what we’re called to do: to cultivate the gospel in the fertile soil of our hearts until its fragrance can’t help but escape into the lives of those we touch. And while Israel does border on the Mediterranean Sea, our desert climate is harsher than Italy and Greece. And our current national predicament feels like the land itself — dry and thirsty for the waters of salvation.

Isaiah’s prophecy of the desert blooming has come true in modern Israel, and now we pray for the blooming of people’s hearts. Today’s followers of Yeshua are the first fruit. And we are meant to cultivate the soil of our own hearts to bring the fragrance of the Messiah to those who are perishing.

Are our lives ground where the fragrance of the knowledge of the Messiah wafts fresh and sweet to those around us? A scent so rich and unmistakable that it turns heads and awakens hearts?

Let’s tend the garden of our hearts well — so that our lives carry the unmistakable scent of hope, so that like lavender on the wind or thyme in the sun — the scent of salvation exudes from us.

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