The Nostrils of God.

Psalm 141

O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me.
Hear my voice when I call to you.

May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

The current understanding of how our olfactory senses work has changed from what was believed just a few years ago. Then, it was believed that we "smelled" things by way of chemical communication: a particle of matter would enter our nose and become lodged in the "sensing" area. The particle (of strawberry, say) would emit a chemical signature (or, odor) and the smell receptors would then send the bran a message that strawberries were nearby.

Today, we understand the phenomenon a little differently. The item's molecules enter the nasal passages, where they are caught by a receptor that has a very similar shape to the molecule's. Once lodged in placed, the olfactory sensor begins to vibrate, measuring the resonance of the trapped molecule. The readings are "decoded", and information is sent to the brain ("We're rolling in strawberries!"). The key here is that the nose doesn't wait for the molecule to announced it's composition, but instead it performs an examination.

Holy Scripture talks about God's nostrils. When we pray, God breathes us in. We enter into his "nostrils" where there are receptors shaped like we are. We lodge into a cubby-hole that's about right for us, and God then runs his examination on us. We are analyzed, scanned, and categorized.

The point of this "up the nose of God" entry is this: God made us, each one of, intentionally and deliberately. Not only did he form us as unique creatures, he formed receptacles in his nostrils for us. Unique, individual, and personal.

"For God so loves us, that he gave his only Son..."