A Fragrance or a Stench
When I got up this morning I was determined to go out for a walk. I’ve been struggling with my discipline to walk more frequently. Walking for me is a therapy; not only physical therapy but also mental and emotional, and today I began to realize it has become a spirit therapy so to speak. God often gets my attention when I'm outside walking and He begins to speak to my heart. My senses almost become overwhelmed if I allow them to and today was one of those days.
The aroma in the air was full and vibrant. Each step I took there was yet another fragrance. Honeysuckle and Jasmine vines growing wild, clinging to nearby fences and trees as if they were adornments placed there by hand with a beautiful mixture of perfume. There were hints of Ligustrum blooms beginning to burst open as well and the Magnolia blossoms already showing off on branches everywhere. The smell of freshly mowed grass lifted from the lawns and recently turned rich soil with its earthly scent along with the scent of the large oaks throughout the woods. Every step I took a new reminder of how nature reveals praise to its maker.
This all brought to mind our worship. The bible gives reference of our sacrifice (or worship) is like a sweet smelling fragrance to the nostrils of God. Can you imagine?
I just had a very tiny, minute experience of what God might inhale each time His people give worship and praise to Him.
Our praise and worship is a choice that we make. As if we are sending beautiful, sweet smelling fragrances to God.
Now let me take you in another direction. Think to yourself the most horrible stench you have ever smelled. The smell of something that turned your stomach to the point that perhaps you lost your last meal. My mind wandered again thinking to myself: “God is this what it smells like to you when your people ignore You? Is this the stench that reaches to you from those that curse your name? Is this the disgusting odor that we, your people lift to you when we do not worship or praise you?”
I don’t have a concrete answer to the questions above, but it just reminded me… Are we a Fragrance or are we a Stench?
