Arguably, most of us are addicted to something. Some are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Others to pleasure, power, possessions, or a combination of other things. As for me, I am addicted to a judgmental spirit.
There! I said it out loud (sort of)!
I spent most of my years focused on being an outward example of good behavior rather than discovering the internal joy of having Jesus as my closest friend. Unfortunately, the stench of pride can still uncontrollably ooze out whenever I give in to the temptation of being the Behavior Police for others. That kind of pungent odor surrounds any droplets of the fragrance of Christ I might possess. That brings to mind an image of Pepé LePew trying to embrace Penelope the cat. All she wants to do is escape the waft of odor to which Pepé had become so accustomed.
Thankfully, we can resist merely covering our stench with cheap, diluted perfume to win Jesus’ favor. “We only need to take our everyday, ordinary lives – our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around lives and place them before God as an offering. Embracing God is the best thing we can do for Him.” (Romans 12:1-2 The Message, pronouns altered) The longer we hold that embrace, the deeper His sweet fragrance seeps into every part of us. His perfume is never diluted and is powerful enough to evaporate any stench!
Eleven years ago, after much prayer, Ron and I were led to the Church of the Highlands in Huntsville, which eventually became our church family. There, we met brothers and sisters who openly shared both their humiliating struggles and their humble successes. Their Christ-like fragrance was the fresh breeze we needed to truly experience the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus in a way we could internalize. We let go of hindrances, embraced the future with confidence, and finally allowed our Lord Jesus to become our friend as well. That has made all the difference.
God patiently works through His children to transform us into joyful servants who can then inherently help His family grow. To achieve this, He often moves His kids to different places so they can be used more effectively. We feel we are being led now to a church family in our own community, Christ Redeemer Church in Guntersville. We love our friends at Highlands, but are excited about the opportunity to help grow a young church. We solicit your prayers as we ask the Spirit to guide our path. This friendly, non-denominational church meets just 10 minutes from our house and includes some of our favorite people. They recently hired a pastor from Church of the Highlands who shares their same beliefs. He washes the church in the water of the Word every week. Our friends there, like those at Highlands, release the fresh fragrance of Christ that inspires us to love Jesus even more. The more we love Jesus, the more we love His other children. The more we love His other children, the more our family grows!
I tell you this because we are all addicted to something. I’m ready to trade in my judgmental addiction for one eager to grow God’s family. I don’t know what your thing is, but I know that God will help us overcome anything if we ask Him and give Him room to work. The road might get long and winding, but it always leads us to the best destination. We can trust Him to use all of our experiences (good and bad) to create lives of joyful service that leave a trail of sweet smell for others to follow.
“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15a NLT)
