“To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” 2 Corinthians 2:16 NLT
As I do nearly every weekend, I woke up well before church Sunday with a smile on my face, intent on taking some extra time to complete my normal run so I could do some 'nature bathing' (aka forest bathing) to prepare my heart for worship. For me, this is the time I slow down a bit and even take a few walk breaks to consciously meditate on the words I read in my morning Bible study--all the while basking in the sights, smells and feels of everything the Lord created. And let me tell you, as someone who has the blessing of being surrounded by thousands of acres of farm land and countless dirt roads that interconnect, there’s never any shortage of things to see or smell. I was especially happy as I came off the trail yesterday and made my way down the side of the quarter-mile of rural Highway that would lead me back home. That was until a farm truck passed by and emitted an awful odor and a cloud of black dust. "That is putrid!" I thought to myself as I plugged my nose, waved my hand in the air, and waited several seconds for the offensive aroma to dissipate and move on so I could breathe in the fresh air again. "What a profound difference between those two smells," I thought to myself.
And you know, when it comes to a difference in smells, the Bible tells us that "to those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume." That "we" is you and me, and every believer who preaches the gospel. Our message is good news to those who choose to accept Christ but repulsive to those who don't. It's so foul, in fact, to those people who revel in their sin and refuse to turn from it that they will reject, hate, persecute, and even harm those who preach it. But "we" must never let that stop us from evangelism as we remember that, through the power of God, we are "adequate for such a task as this."
So be prepared to preach the gospel in season and out of season my friend. Remember that "we" are equipped through the Holy Spirit and more than capable to speak the life-giving words that the world needs to hear.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that there will always be those who will reject the message of salvation and even be downright hostile to it. Prepare our hearts and minds for that now Lord so that we would not cower down when we face rejection. Fill our hearts so full of love for the lost that we would be bold in preaching the good news regardless of the consequences. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
And you know, when it comes to a difference in smells, the Bible tells us that "to those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume." That "we" is you and me, and every believer who preaches the gospel. Our message is good news to those who choose to accept Christ but repulsive to those who don't. It's so foul, in fact, to those people who revel in their sin and refuse to turn from it that they will reject, hate, persecute, and even harm those who preach it. But "we" must never let that stop us from evangelism as we remember that, through the power of God, we are "adequate for such a task as this."
So be prepared to preach the gospel in season and out of season my friend. Remember that "we" are equipped through the Holy Spirit and more than capable to speak the life-giving words that the world needs to hear.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that there will always be those who will reject the message of salvation and even be downright hostile to it. Prepare our hearts and minds for that now Lord so that we would not cower down when we face rejection. Fill our hearts so full of love for the lost that we would be bold in preaching the good news regardless of the consequences. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
No comments:
Post a Comment