It’s no secret that I am a giant wimp when it comes to insects, spiders, caterpillars, salamanders, and any other crawling slimy creature. With the exception of spiders, I am not scared of them I just get creeped out by them. And I especially don’t like to be close to them. Today, I pulled out my mail from my mailbox and if getting three bills and junk mail wasn’t bad enough, there were 4 stink bugs lined up side by side on the back of the envelop closest to my hand. Already having to go to the bathroom (Yes, I have admitted to my caffeine addiction) I was in a hurry to get into my apartment. Just as I was opening the door, I felt one of those little buggers move on my hand. I dropped my mail instantly and began flipping them off of my mail one by one with my keychain. (If you thought I was touching one of those devils you were wrong!) A few moments later, I was moving the one plant that I have managed not to let die back to my desk (I sometimes leave it in the window to get extra sun mostly because one side is about 6 inches higher than the other) and saw another stink bug in my kitchen sink. Unreal, two encounters with stink bugs within 5 minutes. And if this isn’t bad enough for someone who could live forever without insects I saw another one in my house on the ceiling in my kitchen. The worst part about these dreaded stink bugs is that if you kill them they smell! After playing exterminator for almost an hour, I read on the trusted Internet that stink bugs leave an odor that lasts for months and attracts their stink bug friends to the place they leave their scent. When a family of stink bugs moves in, this chick moves out! Because of theses stink bugs I will have dreams tonight about some invasion of flying neon bugs that have superpowers.
I may get worked up over insects and insect like creatures and cringe at the thought of seeing or, worst case scenario, being touched by one but I know they are a necessary part of life on Earth. In almost every way, I am different from a stink bug (it would be cool to have the ability to fly) but like them I want to leave a scent behind for my friends. If I gave up showering for a week; I know my friends would notice my pleasant smell but do they notice the scent of Christ that I leave behind? If they don’t notice it’s either because I have failed at leaving it or my friends have failed to sense it. If I have failed to leave the scent of Christ behind then I am not fulfilling my purpose on this Earth and if my friends fail to sense Christ then I must return over and over again to overpower them with the fragrance of Christ. Do you leave behind a smell? Is it a pleasant aroma that attracts others or is it a terrible stench that repels everyone you come in contact with? From my experience today, I can assure you that stink bugs aren’t easily discouraged and don’t fear the presence of humans. We need to be like stink bugs and be determined opposed to discouraged and we most definitely can’t fear this world. We must leave behind sweet aromas and overpower the stench pouring out from Satan. When we leave behind our scent, the presence of God overpowers the attempts from the devil and we attract others to God’s family. My physical scent may consist of Dove soap, Pink body spray, and lavender fabric softener but long after those fragrances fade away my spiritual scent will remain. I pray every day that all of my friends are bottling up the fragrance of Christ that I leave behind and using the sweet smell to enrich their lives and attract others.
Verse to remember: Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.
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