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"Something stinks. And it's not the litter box."
This line of Pharasaical judgment was uttered by a talking cat in one of those litter commercials. Apparently, this haughty feline did not like one of his house-mates, who was a fun-loving sweet cat. Just prior to this statement, the fun-loving housemate had been giddy with excitement that he was alone. You see, the stench of the waste of multiple cats was no longer wafting gloriously throughout the house. He wondered at his good fortune that the other 2 mean cats had finally vacated his residence.
Before he could get too comfortable, however, one of those cats revealed himself and offered his judgment of the little guy in the above quoted tidbit.
The poor cat's hopes and dreams were dashed even as his nostrils were delighted by the sweet-smelling aroma of his house thanks to the fancy kitty litter.
If you have cats, you know that they can stink up the place like nothing else. It often smells like something died in your house when one of those furry friends does their business. If you are lucky enough to have guests over during the time of detonation, you can expect a good bit of drama and perhaps the ending of some friendships. Noses will be held with accompanying statements of shock and horror. Sour grinch faces will be all the rage. Some unpinched and defenseless noses will be shoved underneath the neck of tee-shirts. Violent threats will be uttered against your kitty compatriots. Dry heaving will ensue in many cases. In extreme cases, actual vomiting may occur.
Not exactly the party of the decade.
Isn't this a delightful read?
So when 2 Corinthians starts using the sense of smell in relation to our role in this world, we should use cat poop as our guide.
God always leads us in triumph in Christ. ALWAYS. That word is key. So often, we find ourselves dwelling in self-pity. And yet Scripture is clear that God ALWAYS leads us in TRIUMPH in CHRIST.
This is not a call to your BEST LIFE NOW. This is not a promise to the perfect life of ease. Paul would be the last person to preach that. Unless of course, he found imprisonment, shipwrecks, torture, and beating to the point of death his best life now.
Leading us in triumph doesn't always mean a life of ease, but it does mean a life of purpose.
Recently, Pastor Joe Focht from Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, has been preaching about the story of Naomi and Ruth. In their misery, they never let go. And as God poured out "bundles of purpose" that Ruth could glean, it wasn't always clear that their life would be perfect. And yet due to Ruth's faithfulness and devotion to the Lord, her kinsman redeemer Boaz became her Prince Charming. And then they had a son named Obed who later had a son named Jesse. And Jesse had a boy who slew a giant and became King David. And later on, the Messiah was born in a manger in Bethlehem. And all of this came about through their family line. God led her in triumph.
And her faith testifies about Christ still today.
Our testimony and faith in Christ as we are ALWAYS led in TRIUMPH is a "sweet aroma" and "fragrance" of Christ among those being saved and those perishing.
With our lives, we can make a pretty nasty funk equivalent of a cat box or we can entice people with the sweet aroma of God's grace in Christ.
And you can't fake it. In Toy Story 3, Lotso smelled like strawberries, but he was a rotten apple. He wasn't genuine. He attempted to cover up his dastardly deeds with a sweet strawberry smell.
Covering up our stink with perfume and candles never works. If you've ever tried that with your cat box, you know that the oppressive cat poop stench doesn't go away. Your room now just smells like flowers, baked pumpkin pie and cat poop.
Selfishly, we often think our faith and testimony are ours alone. This Scripture tells us that is not so. Our faith and testimony has a certain odor to it. It can and will have an impact on the faith-nostrils of both our fellow Christians and those yet to choose Christ. Through our lives, we can either make Christ smell like a rancid cat box or the most alluring sumptuous feast imaginable.
And people's lives are hanging in the balance as they sniff the air for some clue of God.
What will your smell be? What smell will you impart to those around you? What smell will you impart to your children? Your spouse? Your family? Your neighbors? That jerk that cut you off in traffic?
Let's pray that our faith would smell sweet and that our faith would be a light to those around us and not faith-darkening shades that impede the revelation of Christ to our hurting world.
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