You know what a grandma smells like, right? I don't even have to go into the details, you already know what I'm talking about. If a grandma walked into the room where you are sitting right now, you would smell her before you saw her. Personally I don't think it's an altogether pleasant smell, but I tolerate it because the people that smell that way are ancient. It's very likely that they don't know any better than to soak in a tub of ivory soap for a few hours and then rub rose scented potpourri all over themselves.

Any way the point here is that some smells are absolutely defining. You know what grandma smells like. For some people that smell stirs up some very stuffy and unpleasant memories. For some people all you can think about is wanting to hug your own grandma just one more time. When you smell freshly mown grass you may think of hours of back breaking labor, I think of sitting on the porch in summertime with a good book. When you smell coffee you might think of being a kid, waking up in the morning before dad went to work, I think of hours of back breaking labor.

So when scripture says that we are the aroma of God, well that will just make you stop for a moment. 2 Corinthians 2:15. It says that any one who dares spread the gospel, smells like God. So essentially, when you walk into a room, people smell God. What does God smell like? He smells like Death, He smells like Life. To people on the path to salvation, you smell like fresh air, like thanksgiving dinner, like a first love. To people on the path to destruction, you smell like rotten food, like that perfume store at the mall, like sulfur.

Obviously, it's not something you can actually smell, imagine being able to sniff out other believers. Or being able to smell if people were ready to hear the gospel. But just the same way you can't see a smell, you can't always explain why a person gives you the creeps, or inspires you just by being there. The spirit of God that is alive in us, is something that people are aware of, even if only subconsciously.

Your sense of smell is the weakest sense you have. Eventually those sensors get used to what is in the air and you stop smelling it. Suppose you are in a room that has been exposed to a powerful airborne hallucinogen. You may smell it at first and take steps to get out of there. But after a while, you stop smelling it and you are far too fascinated by the pretty shapes on the walls to want to leave any more.

So if someone doesn't want you around, if they persecute you, if they spread lies about you, they smell God, they smell their own impending doom. Give it some time. Eventually they will realize that you are no danger, and soon may even begin to smell life on you rather than death.