LET’S MAKE A HOLY STINK

February 21, 2011

Groundhog’s Day brought us the happy news that an early spring is on the way.  I don’t have a lot of faith in the groundhog’s ability to predict the weather, but this year I’m hoping the little varmint knows what his missing shadow meant.  This has been a humdinger of a winter!

Since Valentine’s Day has come and gone as well, you might be wondering what on earth I could possibly have to talk about this late in the month of February.  If that’s the case, you must not be very familiar with the Doodler.  I can always think of something to say, whether it’s relevant to anyone’s life or not.

Thankfully, last week I became the happy recipient of two wondrous blessings.  First, I became the proud grandmother of the cutest, hairiest little puppy ever foisted upon mankind.  Mabelle Lou, a Coton de Tulear, came to live with my oldest daughter and her husband a week ago. We met her this weekend and she is adorable.  I can hardly wait for her to visit us here and meet Eujane the Bloodhound.  That should make for some canine excitement and possibly provide fodder for another dazzling doodle.

The second blessing came, as a lot of mine do, from the mouth of a child. As a dedicated Nanny Poppins extraordinaire, I feel compelled by the forces of magic within me to introduce my young charges to classic music. Time does not allow me to educate the young minds of Corbin in all genres, so I stick to my favorite, Classic Rock, not Classic Classical. So one day this week, Grace and I were driving back from Kroger with the oldies station playing in the background. The song “I Just Want to Celebrate” by Rare Earth came on. After awhile Grace said from her seat in the back, “Ms. Debbie, why do they want to smell grades?”

Giggling, I replied, “Did you say ‘smell grades’?”

“No, smell grapes!”

“They’re not smelling grapes,” I answered, stifling a chortle.

“NO, MS. DEBBIE, I SAID WHY DO THEY JUST WANT TO SMELL GREAT?” This is when the laughing dam burst and I nearly ran off the road! I could just see Weird Al Yankovic doing a parody of this song running around having everyone smell his pits while singing, “I just want to smell great!”

After I calmed down enough, I explained to Grace what the real lyrics were, which caused us both to laugh like hyenas all the way home. That would have been the end of this anecdote if I hadn’t gotten a new take on it yesterday at church. The theme for the day seemed to be letting go of our inhibitions and worries and ingrained traditions in order to worship God with everything we have. As I thought about that at home, I looked up some scriptures about aromas that please God.

Genesis 8:21, Exodus 29:18, and Leviticus 3:16 all mention the sacrifices burnt on the altar as creating a “pleasing aroma to God.” I looked around some more and found several exciting verses in the New Testament on the same subject.

Hebrews 13:15-16 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” In Philippians 4:18 Paul mentions, “I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 instructs us to “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

In 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 Paul assures us that “we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”

Finally in Romans 12:1 we can infer the aroma that will rise to God as Paul once again speaks: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.”

So we are to imitate God, love and help others as Christ loves us, praise God with our lips as well as our actions, and offer our lives for Him to use as He sees fit. If we do these things we will make such a holy stink that not only will God be pleased, but all those with whom we come in contact will be sniffing the air wondering what that heavenly smell might be!

Maybe we Christians should adopt this as our new classic theme song:

I JUST WANT TO SMELL GREAT!
I JUST WANT TO SMELL GREAT!
I JUST WANT TO SMELL GREAT!