Sin Stinks

14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

II Corinthians 2:14-16


I drive past a hog shed everyday to and from work. As you approach- and some days are worse than others, but it STINKS. There are also a few houses along that road and I've often thought to myself- "I would NOT want to live in one of those houses and smell that everyday". The farther I drive, the smell goes away but some day's, it can almost bring tears to your eyes.



Growing up, I had a great uncle that raised hogs. When I would visit a few times a year, he would let my cousins and me go in and see the new little pigs. When you first stepped in, again- it STUNK, but the more you were in there, it because bearable, and sometimes you almost couldn't even smell the stench.



I was thinking about sin this week and how sometimes it's so obvious- it's like a stink you can't get rid of. And other times, it's gradual, you get used to it and at times you tolerate it and hardly know it's there. God HATES sin and He never gets used to it and neither should we. The farther we are away from God in our faith, the more we can't smell the stench of sin. We almost become immune to it and that's deadly, emotionally, physically and spiritually.



In II Corinthians 2:14 it says: "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. When we belong to Christ, we don't stink- we smell like Him and others around us saved and unsaved smell it too. When we're saved, our sin still smells to us sometimes, but that smell is not from Him- it's from satan, wanting us to remember our mistakes so we can continue in the sin or dwell on it and not be fragrant for Him. Don't allow satan to fill your nose with the foul smell of sin.



Sometimes we need to smell it to remember how bad it was and how we don't want to be caught up in it again. The stink should remind us to get as far away as we can and draw close to Christ- He cleanses us from ALL sin. But we should never wauler in it like a pig.



Father, I praise You. Thank you for the forgiveness you always extend. Thank You for the sense of smell and that to You- we are a sweet fragrance. In Jesus Name- AMEN


Julie