May 14
Finding a Fragrant Life
My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.
Psalm 38:5 (NLT)
But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
I am impressed with my young son's ability to smell. Maybe it’s a gift, or maybe he inherited it. Both of his grandmothers have good noses, so maybe that’s it. Certainly, he didn’t get it from me ... I don’t know what's wrong with me. If it’s a constant cold, my diet, allergies or what. Maybe it's something in the air, but for whatever reason, I don’t smell things very well. That's the background for a recent Family Soderquist episode...
This happened two weeks ago when we were driving to Portland on a newly resurfaced stretch of highway, and Alex piped up from the back seat. “What’s that smell?” I sniffed the inside air as I gazed outside at the towering Ponderosa pines. All my senses could pick up was how fast the cars were zipping by us. And then it dawned on me, I didn’t smell a thing.
“Hmm,” his mom said. “It smells like there was a fire, Alex.” I raised an eyebrow. Are you sure? But then just up ahead we spied a sign, CONTROLLED BURN, and I wondered why I didn’t get even a hint of the smell.
About five miles later, just before the ascent into the Cascade Mountains, Alex asks again, “Ooo, what's that smell??”
“That smells like a skunk, honey.” His mother turned to him with a wrinkled up nose. “Not very nice is it?” Alex shook his head.
Now I was wondering if they were playing a game with me, because I don’t smell a thing. But they look unaware of the man behind the wheel ... the one with the totally malfunctioning olfactory sense.
I guess I've come to accept this as one of my weaknesses. For sure, not having a sense of smell has it’s better moments, but I'm sure I miss out on some of life's truly wondereful fragrances: subtle-smelling flowers, my wife's perfume or the sweetness of the morning air. So ... there are good smells and bad smells, and my plight reminds me of how oblivious we are to the way our lives can offend God—the high points of our lives, the things we are so excited about, floating up to heaven like some wretched odor.
Certainly, we would agree our gross sins are an abomination to heaven—David confesses that rather well in Psalm 38. What we don’t seem to grasp is how our lives offend God when we think our good deeds or righteous acts must impress Him. Isaiah knew better. In fact, this Shakespeare of the Old Testament went so far as to say our good deeds were not only unacceptable, they were repugnant. Totally objectionable! Nelson Study Bible theologians footnote Isaiah 64:6 with this: “Filthy rags refers to garments stained during menstruation.” This is what God thinks of our righteous acts? Get rid of them. Replace them with something better!
But our God doesn't leave us out to hang. He is a merciful God, and so He sent Jesus not only to save us from our sins, but to give us something as well. Paul tells us in Romans 10:
“Salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is the message we preach—is already within easy reach.”
In fact, God is so good, He gives us the righteousness of His Son! Paul goes on:
“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. ... “Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed.” Romans 10:8-11 NLT
This is Good News and I can confess, I believe Jesus is the Christ. As my Lord and Savior for over forty years now, His righteousness has not been a disappointment.
So while I can’t smell much in this physical world, my concern now is having a life that is fragrant to God. To do that means living in His power and not my own. This will take a whole lot of listening, and trusting as I make the changes that please Him. What about you? Will you join me in this pursuit of what He considers holy? His ways are so much better than ours. Let’s trust Him to lead us through this grand journey we call life....
Father, thank You for this truth from Romans 5:1: “we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us ... we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
Finding a Fragrant Life
My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.
Psalm 38:5 (NLT)
But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
I am impressed with my young son's ability to smell. Maybe it’s a gift, or maybe he inherited it. Both of his grandmothers have good noses, so maybe that’s it. Certainly, he didn’t get it from me ... I don’t know what's wrong with me. If it’s a constant cold, my diet, allergies or what. Maybe it's something in the air, but for whatever reason, I don’t smell things very well. That's the background for a recent Family Soderquist episode...
This happened two weeks ago when we were driving to Portland on a newly resurfaced stretch of highway, and Alex piped up from the back seat. “What’s that smell?” I sniffed the inside air as I gazed outside at the towering Ponderosa pines. All my senses could pick up was how fast the cars were zipping by us. And then it dawned on me, I didn’t smell a thing.
“Hmm,” his mom said. “It smells like there was a fire, Alex.” I raised an eyebrow. Are you sure? But then just up ahead we spied a sign, CONTROLLED BURN, and I wondered why I didn’t get even a hint of the smell.
About five miles later, just before the ascent into the Cascade Mountains, Alex asks again, “Ooo, what's that smell??”
“That smells like a skunk, honey.” His mother turned to him with a wrinkled up nose. “Not very nice is it?” Alex shook his head.
Now I was wondering if they were playing a game with me, because I don’t smell a thing. But they look unaware of the man behind the wheel ... the one with the totally malfunctioning olfactory sense.
I guess I've come to accept this as one of my weaknesses. For sure, not having a sense of smell has it’s better moments, but I'm sure I miss out on some of life's truly wondereful fragrances: subtle-smelling flowers, my wife's perfume or the sweetness of the morning air. So ... there are good smells and bad smells, and my plight reminds me of how oblivious we are to the way our lives can offend God—the high points of our lives, the things we are so excited about, floating up to heaven like some wretched odor.
Certainly, we would agree our gross sins are an abomination to heaven—David confesses that rather well in Psalm 38. What we don’t seem to grasp is how our lives offend God when we think our good deeds or righteous acts must impress Him. Isaiah knew better. In fact, this Shakespeare of the Old Testament went so far as to say our good deeds were not only unacceptable, they were repugnant. Totally objectionable! Nelson Study Bible theologians footnote Isaiah 64:6 with this: “Filthy rags refers to garments stained during menstruation.” This is what God thinks of our righteous acts? Get rid of them. Replace them with something better!
But our God doesn't leave us out to hang. He is a merciful God, and so He sent Jesus not only to save us from our sins, but to give us something as well. Paul tells us in Romans 10:
“Salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is the message we preach—is already within easy reach.”
In fact, God is so good, He gives us the righteousness of His Son! Paul goes on:
“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. ... “Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed.” Romans 10:8-11 NLT
This is Good News and I can confess, I believe Jesus is the Christ. As my Lord and Savior for over forty years now, His righteousness has not been a disappointment.
So while I can’t smell much in this physical world, my concern now is having a life that is fragrant to God. To do that means living in His power and not my own. This will take a whole lot of listening, and trusting as I make the changes that please Him. What about you? Will you join me in this pursuit of what He considers holy? His ways are so much better than ours. Let’s trust Him to lead us through this grand journey we call life....
Father, thank You for this truth from Romans 5:1: “we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us ... we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
posted by Craig Soderquist at 10:40 AM
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