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Introducing Me to Me - Part 6

by Jerry Ousley  
10/14/2016 / Christian Living

We purchased a parcel of property out in the country. It is a wooded area that borders a small lake and we developed it into a private camp ground with intentions to someday retire there. We spent many Saturdays working on it, cutting trees that were in the way, chopping down weeds, burning brush and fallen limbs and just cleaning it up. Because of the summer heat we'd get there as early as we could because the afternoons were just too hot to be working outdoors. I sweated more working out on that property than I believe I ever have. I'd take two handkerchiefs with me to wipe sweat and by the time we were ready to call it a day both would be soaking wet. I mean they couldn't be any wetter if I had taken them down to the lake and thrown them in. Our clothes would be wringing wet too. Covered with dirt, dust, oil and grease from the chain saws and weed eaters, coupled with sweaty clothes, needless to say we were a mess.

Often we'd stop to get a Coke and a candy bar at a little country store back in the town closest to the property. One day we were so dirty that Deb felt better staying in the truck. So I went in to get our energy snack. Folks, I was a mess. I noticed that as I got close to other people they quickly got out of my way. I knew I was dirty but I thought, "Now what's that all about?" I wondered that because normally the people in this small hamlet were extremely friendly. As I scratched my head (with chips of saw dust falling to the floor as I did so), I took a couple of sniffs. No wonder they were getting out of my way! Really they weren't getting out of my way as much as they were putting distance between me and them because I was not only dirty but I stank too!

We've been talking about introducing me to me based on the verse of scripture found in 1 Corinthians 11:31 which says, "For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged." How often have we begged God to get closer to us? It seems that He is thousands of miles away and we wonder why. This isn't always the case but could it be that we are so covered with the filth of sin that we stink? Perhaps our holy, righteous God who loves us dearly just can't stand the stench of us. I mean, who wants to stand close to a skunk that's just sprayed its spray? There's no mistaking that foul odor when driving down the road and getting close to where one's been killed. You know what I mean.

Now I don't mean to be offensive here. I'm not accusing anyone of smelling like a skunk. We might think that the sin we still have in our lives isn't so bad. You know, as you are around an odor long enough we get to where we don't notice it. We are so used to it that we no longer smell it. That doesn't mean that others around us don't smell it either. It's the same with God. He longs to be close to us. He wants to be close to us. But until we do something about our sinful odor He just can't get close to us.

Just like me in the store, when we get around another person who smells of body odor we don't stick around too long either. As we examine our own lives openly and honestly comparing us to what the Bible says, we'll soon discover that there are many things about us that just smell spiritually. Now we have two choices. We can say, "Oh well, that's just me" or we can own up to our flaws and do something about them. That's what our Lord wants us to do. He has sent the Holy Spirit into our lives to be honest with us. The Bible also tells us that the truth shall set us free. It will, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. By that I mean that we don't want to accept the fact that we might have a spiritually foul odor about us.

The good news is that we can do something about it. When we realize our sin then we can take a good soaking bath in the presence of the Lord by repenting of that sin and then going to work on not doing it anymore. When we do then we smell fresh and clean and we have opened the door to once again get close to God.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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