sense of smell

why is God so good?  think about who we are.  think of what he has done.  it is clear that we, in no way, deserve the love of the infinite and all knowing God that has been forever and always will be. 

the world tells us to think so highly of ourselves, that we have rights and merit that is somehow worthy of acknowledgement.  some people live their entire lives to be acknowledged.  i have been that person.  but now i see the more i think of myself, not in terms of time or obsession, but in stature, the less i think of God, once again, not the amount of time, but worth.  have you ever heard the saying, "so-and-so thinks their ____ doesn't stink"?  i'm like that sometimes.  when i am that way, i am proving how little i think of God, how low i have put him and how far from the center i have pushed him.

when my nose has lost its sensitivity to be able to smell my own condition, it means that i have lost perspective.  how's your nose working lately?  why do i forget where i came from so easily?  it's like when you put on way too much cologne and after a while your nose is so completely desensitized that you can't tell how horrific you smell, and you walk into a room thinking you're the bomb, but everyone stays at least six feet from you at all times to protect their brain cells from dying.  this is the condition of heart i never want to be in, but somehow find on a somewhat annual basis.

vick's vapor breath-strips for the heart?  is that what we need?  is that what i need?  you see, remaining in a constant and consistent state of sensitivity and tenderness is admittedly an incredibly difficult feat to fulfill, but...when i think of how great that glory of God feels, it makes me want to admit how bad i smell, and plead with him to clean me up.

father in heaven, purify my heart and annoint my head with your sweet presence.  i ask for your forgiveness for when i think more of myself than i should.  you are so much higher than i, yet i put myself above you so often it hurts to think about it, but i think about it so that i will not try and hide any part of my failure from you.  thank you for your forgiveness and your grace.  may i be a sweet smelling aroma to you, and may i be molded to be more like your son Jesus Christ.  your son, your servant.

Comments

[Cory]

I was thinking about this today, as well...good thoughts. This is, you know, the Lenten season, so it is a pretty good time to recognize the limits of our humanity...