A few years back, when our children were still living at home, my oldest son invited one of his friends to come to church with him.  I remember well when we went by to pick him up.  As soon as we pulled into his driveway he came running out the door with a smile on his face.  He did not have a church background, so he was thrilled at the opportunity to go.  That was the first of many joyful experiences of having him accompany us to worship.

However, there is something else I recall about him; especially that first night we picked him up.  As he climbed into our vehicle, his clothes reeked with the smell of cigarette smoke.  Oh, it was not that he had been smoking, for he was quite young, but both his parents smoked.  As a result, the smoke permeated his clothes; although, I doubt that he even knew it.

Why do I say that?  Because- - I grew up with a dad who was a heavy smoker.  I am certain that there were times when non-smokers could easily detect smoke in my clothes, but I was so accustomed to the smell that I did not know it.  That continued until I moved off to college into a smoke-free environment.  From that point, I developed an allergy to the odor of cigarette smoke which continues to this day.

It still baffles me to think how something bothers me so much now that for years I did not even notice.  But as I think about it, I also believe it to be a pretty good analogy of our spiritual lives.  For many years we can reek from the stench of sins and never really take notice until we leave them and are purified through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 11:22).  It is then that we are able to realize what we really where before- - and have no desire to “smell” that way again (cf. Romans 6:21-23).

So, how do you “smell”?  If you are a smoker, you smell like smoke- - whether you know it or not.  If you are still in your sins, guess how you smell?  But you do not have to stay that way!  Why not come clean today?  You can’t believe the difference it will make!