Pungent Problem (Part One)

Our house stunk last week.

We were sure that something had died. 

Tuesday a week ago, we thought our dog trotted into the basement instead of going outside.  Mom and Dad cleaned anything they could find downstairs on our old carpet.  It stank… and I didn’t offer to help. 

Last Wednesday morning, I came downstairs to let a friend in for prayer and was horrified.  She can’t come in a house that smells this way!  I shut the basement door, the smell died down on the main level, and I didn’t bother about it till someone opened the door on Thursday morning.

I was sick of the smell by Thursday morning.  I’m pretty sure I have the most sensitive nose in our family.  (I’ve thought that on other occasions, too!)  I marched into the basement myself armed with strong carpet cleaner and scrubbed every stain I could find in the smelliest area.  There was a clear place that smelled; I could walk away and it would be less.  It smelled better, but not odorless, when I was done.

By Friday, when the smell refused to leave, one of my parents had the brilliant idea that something died.  They searched the basement and couldn’t find anything.  Something must have died in the walls of our house.  Gross. 

There are some lovely spiritual analogies to draw from this pungent experience.

First, death stinks.  The old man, the one who is spiritually dead to God, reeks.  The smell will fill quite a large space!  And the longer death lies around, the more foul odor it gives off.  Spiritual death must reek in God’s nose.  Every once in a while when I get a whiff of mine, I am horrified.

Second, I empathize with Martha.  “Lord, he stinketh.”  The account of Lazarus being raised from the dead is suddenly much more impressive.  Four days?  That would be like whatever decaying critter we have being raised to life when the smell was at its worst.  I know that when the flesh has finished decaying, the smell will go away, but it was only getting worse in our house!  Four days of death is both pungent and real.

Third, death leads to skeletons.  If death goes on untouched by Jesus’ Life, all the flesh will rot away and leave only a skeleton.  (I know this because apparently we had the same stinky issue once before Caroline was born.  Something died in the walls right by Mom and Dad’s room.  The smell eventually left after a couple weeks.)  Skeletons are nice in this situation, but they are the last stage of death spiritually.  Talk to Ezekiel.  It took several moves of God and testings of faith before the skeletons were put together, covered with flesh, given the breath of life, and raised to their feet as a mighty army.  Let’s not wait for God to raise up skeletons.  He is quite willing to save us from the sting (and stink) of death if we turn to Him now. 

   

……………………………………………………….

Part Two, and an unexpected explanation, coming soon!

……………………………………………………….