Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Good morning, dear ones.
Thus commences a challenging day…cleaning, gathering, packing, loading, all in preparation for taking off for a few days. Hope we can pull out before noon. It wasn’t till yesterday afternoon that it was confirmed that Thano would be going with us. We’ll be traveling and staying in our pickup and camper…except for the 3 nights on Orcas Island…Lieber Haven Resort. You could go to their website if you have any interest in visualizing the setting. Our NC reunion begins tonight in Sedro Woolley.
In view of this time away, I can’t make promises as to how regular I will be with these devotionals. We’ll see.
Have a great day as you do what you do. Be a godly thinker rather than a worldly stinker. (Read below.)
Love, Dad/Ray.
Our American culture is quite caught up with the quest for making oneself smell good. People are constantly trying to avoid what they reckon to be unpleasant odors by using deodorants, perfumes, colognes, powders, soaps, etc. But in the spiritual realm, if you are a committed believer, you automatically emit a very foul odor to those who are against Christ. In this sense, please be a stinker!
You have heard the old saying that, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In this case I suppose we could say that “Stink is in the nose of the smeller.” The unregenerate noses (senses) of the antagonistic unbeliever cause him to react so adversely to the clean and honest life of the true believer as compared with the condition of his own life as to create a sense of deserved judgment that is likened to the SMELL OF DEATH. To God (the ultimate authority on odors) and other believers, however, that same believer emits the “fragrance of life” and the “aroma of Christ.”
Paul is here illustrating and emphasizing the truth that we as believers are appointed by God to be different and to have an effect on the world around us. It is similar to Jesus saying that you are to be salt and light. The lesson content of these metaphors is rich. So, if we are not salt, we are useless. If we are not light, we are dark. If we are not alive, we are dead. If we are not hot, we are cold—or lukewarm—which is worse. And if we are not giving off the “aroma of Christ,” then we may be in urgent need of a thorough bath in the “water of the Word” (Ephesians 5:26).