Kingdom Life Ministries
Kingdom Life Ministries
Kingdom Life Ministries is affiliated with Victory Churches International
August 18, 2008
'Body Odour' IV: The Scent of Sin & Death
There is another odour (strong smell / scent) that I diffuse: when I sin. That is: when I disobey (for sin is the
transgression/disobedience of the Law…God's law; God's word), when I act unrighteously, in non-alignment
with God's word (for, all unrighteousness / wrong positioning in relation to God, His Will and Word, is sin); and
when I fail to love as God loves: unconditionally, unselfishly….
It is the scent of death!
Let's share again an article we had used in a previous edition of TK&HK, today:
'Another Lesson from Ants: The Scent of Death & Promise of New Beginnings
"…..look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two" (Proverbs 6:6)
"Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson was fascinated with ant communities. He recognized that ants identified
death by smell. When an ant died, its corpse began to decompose and produce oleic acid.
Ants recognized that one of their fellows died from the smell of this acid and would dutifully carry the dead ant to
the refuse pile. Wilson daubed oleic acid on little pieces of paper that would normally be ignored, but in this case
were quickly picked up by ants and deposited in the refuse pile. The final act of his experiment was to put oleic
acid on living ants. As expected, the ants in the colony picked up the living ants, legs and antennae protesting, and
carried them off to the refuse pile and deposited them there. The tainted ants could not return to the community
until they cleaned themselves of the acidic scent.
I find a parallel to sin in our lives. When we give ourselves over more and more to sin, we die a little more. Sin is
more than breaking the rules of God (although it is that indeed); it is giving in to death and denial. The reasons
for such an excursion into darkness can be complex and related to past hurts and pains, but the effect is the same:
we are painted more and more with death.
And as we move and go about our business, we emit the scent of death. Sometimes we are carried off to the refuse
pile when discovered. Regardless, the cleansing power is in Jesus Christ, who busts through our denial systems and
makes his way into the throne room of our lives, as Nathan the prophet did with David (2 Samuel 12), and brings to
our awareness the death scent that covers us.
One of the tragic results of such things is that people, once carried away to the refuse pile, believe that they can never
return: they have become garbage. Persuaded they are damaged goods, they surrender more and more to that which
is killing them because their guilt is overpowering. But the good news of Easter is that there is a greater power that
can forgive and remove the scent and set one free. That power is the inexhaustible love of God in Jesus Christ.
The removal of the scent, however, is not the end of the story. Jesus not only sets us free from sin and death but then
empowers us to live new lives (traditionally called repentance). While we never become perfect in this life, we become
wiser and grateful. Wiser because we learn more and more about the places that paint us with death and how to avoid
them. Grateful because God has forgiven us and we want to live grace-filled, forgiven lives that radiate Life not death.
I find it interesting and heart-warming that we tend to want to turn and help others through the kinds of traumas we
have experienced once God has delivered us. It is a kind of living gratitude.
Feel painted with death? Don't go it alone. Pastors and fellow believers are willing to come alongside of you and pray
for you and be guides toward healing. And remember that God is the God of new beginnings.'
(Ref: Don't Go It Alone, by George Cladis. (c) 2001 - 2008 H. E. Butt Foundation. All rights reserved. Reprinted with
permission from Laity Lodge and TheHighCalling.org. )
Kindly feel free to contribute to this by return comments, as we 'sharpen' ourselves together.
And, may the REST of your life be the BEST, in Jesus' name. Amen!
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Prophetic word: As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and
honor (Ecclesiastes 10 :1, NLT)...says the Spirit of the Lord
Respectfully, in God's Kingdom Service,
Pastor anayoChukwu Placid Onwuka
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