Stinkay!

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
2 Corinthians 2:14-18 (The Message Bible)

Often in the last 2 years, my wife and I have gone walking in the malls around our area. Sometimes we go to the South Center mall, or the Bellevue Town Square mall. While walking, we talk about different things in our lives that we enjoy, things that we have been thinking about, and what God is doing in our lives. Most often, while walking, we go past a shop or two that smell good. Usually its the food court that smells the best, I know, shocker right? Sometimes, while walking we pass Bath & Body Works. The smells are not terribly obnoxious. They usually remind me of a hospital, because they smell so antiseptically clean. Then we end up walking by Abercrombie and Fitch or Hollister and they have the smell of STRONG, NASTY, CHEAP cologne sprayed everywhere within a 30 ft. radius of the entrance. They have been having a shirtless, muscle-bound young man standing outside with just flip-flops and jeans. There, most often, one can hear the indiscernible thuds of some sort of music that is barely understandable, despite being blasted so loudly from the store.
Almost immediately, I get a nasty headache from the cologne, and if I don't leave right away, I will have a headache all day (or night as the case usually is). Its gotten to the point where my wife, Amber, and I cross on the other side of the mall, or avoid it altogether!

Paul writes this 2nd letter to the Corinthians, and says that we should be smelling like a SWEET aroma to God, while smelling like Abercrombie and Fitch to the sinners! We should be so sincere in our faith (Verse 18) that despite anything we say, sinners are repenting because they can't stand the headache anymore!

My question to you is are you?

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