Roses in bloom, jasmine in the morning, honeysuckle at night. Sweet, intoxicating scents reminding me of my childhood lead to floral wonderlands in my memory. My love of flowers is hereditary. Stemming from my grandmother and her affinity for roses and carnations down to my mother who named all her daughters after flowers, we love the scent of fresh flowers. A gentle fragrance fills the air and for a slight moment, flowers can make everything better.
Now take that sweet scent and contrast with with the stench of a high school locker room. Or a Cheveron gas station restroom in Barstow. Or a crowded Italian subway in the middle of July. One is a sweet scent while the other is a putrid stench.
As dichotomous at those comparisons are, sometimes we can be the same way. When there is sin and impurity in our life, there is a putrid, repugnant, recoiling odor emitted when we offer a sacrifice. When we harbor sin, when we cover sin, when we "lift up holy hands" and try to offer our sacrifices to the Lord while struggling with impurity, we offer up a repugnant stench, rather than a sweet aroma of praise.
Whether you are a mother and your children look up to you, a student on campus who people know is a Christian, a leader in ministry, a person of prominence in your field of work, a recent divorcee who is struggling keep balance in your life, WE MUST NOT BE LIKE THE PHARISEES who believed they were fragrant flowers, but were nothing more than stinky socks: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness (Matt. 23:27).
Stop faking the funk. We smell and no amount of Dakkar Noir or Cool Water (aka scents of the ghetto) can cover the odor. Be washed with Living Water and anointed with fragrant oil. It is then and only then we can be a sweet aroma unto the Lord (Lev. 3:5b).
8 comments:
Bam! Bashing on Dakkar Noir AND Cool Water?! LOL!
Thanks for reminding me that I need to be renewed every single day. Like Pastor Poncho says, "We live in the USA, please shower daily" we need to also clean our hearts and be washed from all sin. Daily.
Keep 'em coming'!
AMEN! Great post!! Great reminder!!
-j
don't fake the funk...too funny!
When you ask God to show you the sin in your heart, He obliges...and then you find yourself saying, "Whoa! Slow down!" But it is so good when He reveals areas of sin that you were totally unaware of! May we be zealous to repent.
What do you think about Chistians holding back from keeping other Christians accountable...from calling friends/family on the carpet for sins that are blatant...simply because we don;t want to appear judgmental since we have sin, too?
i was just journaling about being a white-washed tomb! you are so timely :). another verse that hit me hard lately is 2 timothy 3:1-5, specifically verse 5 "having the appearance of godliness". so easy to know all the answers, say all the right things, to go through all the motions and have the appearance of being a Christian. the rest of the verse goes on to say "but denying its power". how true! when we fake it, we not only do not glorify God we are powerless. to do good, to be kind, patient, loving, gentle...i think i need to write my own blog on this!! :)
Nicely done Bianca, I am stinky but thanks God he washed away that awful Smell off of me when it’s need to be removed and replaced with Gods fragrance
I know?! It's so hard to think of ourselves as sinless, but we are just like the Pharisees some times. Sad but true.
@Tish: I totally call people on the carpet! I know I'm jacked up too, but if I'm dying from AIDS, does that mean I'm disqualified from telling someone not to have premarital sex? No. If I have lung cancer from smoking, am I disqualified from warning someone about the dangers of smoking? No.
If someone's lost, I'm going to point them in the right direction. Even if I have a flat tire :)
Wow, Bianca, that comment to Tish was so appropriate for me right now. My family was just talking about this topic last night. I'd love it if you wrote a post about confronting other believers about their sin and doing it in love.
that's a great answer to tish...i was actually talking about this with my husband last nite...how do you tell a friend she is going the wrong way or making the wrong choices with out sounding self righteous...what happens when u tell her and she continues...how do u stop it from affecting your relationship..i am not saying that she has to listen to me, but how do stand next to a friend as she sort of self-destructs? How do tell her without feeling like she is thinking to herself, "you r one to talk..." I hope u read this and let me know your thoughts...
I do sometimes get confused and think, "am i a pharisee? am i a hypocrite? do i go throught the motions?" at those times I wonder if it's God poitning something out, or if it's satan trying to take me down...
Post a Comment