Whoa! What’s That Smell?

There are many ways to begin each new day.  Some people like to start with a series of stretches or perhaps a morning jog.  For some, nothing says “good morning” like a nice, hot shower.  Others need a hearty breakfast to get their minds churning and their bodies moving.  As for me, I’m fine with any of the above; unfortunately, I spent the first part of this morning cleaning the dog poo off the bottom of my husband’s work shoes.  With two dogs, poo is one of those things you learn to deal with.  The problem comes into play in the fact that my husband has a strong aversion to the smell of poo, and a single whiff could result in projectile vomiting.  That being the case, it’s easier for me to clean the poo off his shoes than it is to clean up the mess he makes trying to do it himself.

Most days, I’m understanding of his inability to deal with the poo, and I clean his shoes without complaint.  This morning, though, I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  I had so much to do that I really didn’t have time to clean his shoes.  There were errands to run, blogs to write, a pastor appreciation dinner to plan and the list went on.  I wanted to start tackling that list.  Besides, I had to clean dog poo off my own shoes yesterday, and I really wasn’t in the mood to do it again.  And so, the grumbles ensued.

“Why do I have to clean his shoes?  He’s the one who stepped in the poo.  I already cleaned my own shoes, and now I have to clean his too?  This is not how I wanted to start my day!”  Fortunately, the Lord didn’t allow me to complain long, for with that still, small voice He whispered, “Now you know how I feel.”  Talk about a sobering thought!

Our sin stinks to God.  It is repulsive, yet in His great love, God has offered to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).  Even though we were the ones who went tromping through sin and willingly dirtied ourselves.  Despite our failures and the stench of our wrongdoing, God said, “Give it to me.  I’ll clean it for you.”  He knew we couldn’t do it ourselves.  We aren’t good enough.  We don’t have what it takes.  In fact, the Bible tells us that even our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  Even if we wanted to clean up our own mess of sin, we couldn’t.  Our only hope is to turn it over to God and to allow Him to cleanse us from the inside out.  Only He can remove the stains of our sin, and He longs to do just that.  All we need to do is ask.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16