Freshly Bathed
Pastor Carri Johnson
After a long day of hiking and swimming in some lake or river, maybe even cooking those brats (please, no cheddar brats) over an open fire for dinner, I begin to notice a few things. Things about myself.
- My shoes are absolutely covered in dried mud and I think that there may be some inside my shoe, because it feels sort of crunchy in there.
- My swimsuit, well I wore that under my clothes just in case I might have an opportunity to swim. I did…now that suit is mostly dry under my clothes, but I’m feeling sort of chilled now. The fire is nice but only one side can face it at a time.
- Starting the fire was fun, though someone dumped some Fall leaves into the fire and, boy! did that fire smoke! I am hearing the character, Doug, in my head. He was the fluffy yellow labrador retriever in the movie, Up. His famous line is, “I can smell you.” I can really smell the smoke, the river water, and now the brats on my person. Wow!
This is not what I want my bed to smell like…I do not want to smell this either…what an aroma! Time for the refreshing shower with the shampoo and the pretty smelling body wash to take away the smells of the world today!
So why am I talking about the aroma from a day like that? Is it a little too personal to find out that a Pastor can get a little…odorous? LOL! Maybe, but I do have a point. As people who love the Lord Jesus Christ and claim to want to follow Him as their Savior, we need to realize that the world can attach horrible odors/aromas to each of us.
We have a choice each day as to whom we will serve with our bodies, minds, souls, and spirits. Will we live by faith and love him with our all (body, mind, soul, and spirit) or will we live doing what we want without truly thinking about Jesus? Sin causes a terrible smell in the nostrils of God. I want to be freshly bathed in the love and forgiveness and be fully redeemed by Jesus Christ and His loving sacrifice for those sins. I want my actions to be for Him and cause a sweet smelling aroma to rise up to the throne room of God.
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
2 Corinthians 2:15-16a
~Pastor Carri Johnson