Day 26 - Smell Fast

When I was growing up my dad always used to say in regards to education, "make like a sponge and soak up all you can."  He saw within me the capacity for great learning.  It's said kids are the worlds greatest information receptors while simultaneously being the world's worst data interpreters. We are constantly learning and experiencing new things.  We see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.  The various combinations of these "inputs" allow us to process this information in a multitude of ways.  So how do we process what we have received?  How do we interpret the information?

Although there are undoubtedly some erroneous ways to interpret what we receive and don't receive, there are some principles by which I believe we can understand what we've been given.

Principle #1.  Take control of the "inputs" on your life

Colossians 3:17

¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Every sight, sound, taste, smell, and feeling should be experienced "in the Lord".  We may struggle with how these sensations are processed, but at least we can be assured of why we experience them.  I suspect as long as our actions conform to this ideal of acting in the Lord the sounds will become more soothing and the tastes will grow ever sweeter. 

Likewise, the absence of any of these sensations because of our faith in the Lord makes the remembrance of these gifts all the fonder.  Our thankful hearts allow us to see the blessings of these gifts regardless of how they are often abused by people who have their minds on selfish gains.  "in the Lord" is the catalyst to experiencing the goodness of the treasures of God given us in this word.  To experience the world through the eyes of Jesus via our five senses is more valuable than the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride in possessions.

Principle #2

2 Corinthians 10

⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Not everything we experience in this world is via our willful activity in the Lord.  We live in a fallen world and because of this will often experience spoiled goodness.  The blessings God intended us to enjoy are corrupted by man's separation from him.  Instead of life, we experience death.  Instead of his good pleasure, we receive the result of man's evil motives.  But even in the midst of this corruption we are to take captive the stink we may experience in this world and make it obedient to Christ.

For the last 26 days I have longed for the smell of fresh laundered clothes, bread, roast, candles, and coffee.  I miss the smell of grass, and roses, lavender, and rain.  My mind thirsts for these smells.  My body longs for them.  They are a promise of better things.  They are a dim reflection of the best I might hope for.  When my Father gives, he gives well.  If I can see the contrast with or without his his sensual blessings in my life, maybe I will be able, in some equitable manner, be able to appreciate the far greater beauty of his spiritual ones.