Echoes From the Campfire

[Don Adkisson]

       "The recent rain had scented the air with the heavy aroma of grass which cleared the head and made a soul feel good about life."
                    --Mike Stotter  (McKinney's Law)

       "Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor."

                   --Ecclesiastes 10:1 (NKJV)
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I was sitting the other day in my rocker doing some reading, when an aroma from the kitchen floated in my direction.  Annie was making broth from the left-over bones from the prime rib we had for Emmalee's birthday.  Then, the day before yesterday, I was sitting on the sofa, just laying there, pondering and praying, when the smell of her baking cake wafted out from the kitchen.  Ahhh, sweet smells.
       When I was a kid there was seldom a time, especially when I was in elementary school, that I didn't enter the backdoor of the house and get hit immediately with the smell of Grandma's baking.  It might be cookies, or cinnamon rolls, or bread.  I recall the wonderful smell of entering a bakery or a coffee shop.  I remember one in Pennsylvania where they roast the beans in the shop.  Plus, I can't forget the numerous times I have smelled the frying of bacon in the morning, at home or around a campfire.
       Now there is even a pseudo-science dealing with aroma therapy.  Essential oils are used to bring a mood to a home, or a person.  They are used to create an effect upon one's psyhic and emotions.  Certain oils mean certain things.  They are to be therapeutic, comforting, and satisfying.  Certain aromas are used for certain ailments.  I do like to put a drop of two of eucalyptus or lavender on my pillow if my nose is clogged up.
       Those are sweet smells, but I've also had some not so savory aromas come to my nostrils.  I remember when we first moved to Panama City, Florida.  There was an atrocious smell that was sickening.  I found out later it was a place where paper was made.  And who can forget a time when you stepped in dog-poo and carried it around on your shoe?  Death has an aroma, a putrid smell.  I have smelled animals that have been dead for days.  I remember when rats would die in the air conditioning vents and the putridity of their remains floated through the auditorium.   I've gone into candle stores and passed through perfume sections of stores where the aromas, which are supposed to be fragrant, are so strong that they clog up the sinuses.
       God speaks of aromas.  

               "And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma.  Then the LORD said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.'"
                              --Genesis 8:21 (NKJV)

This aroma was given by Noah's sacrifice after the flood waters had subsided and he and his family walked out of the ark.  It was in thanksgiving, praise, and worship to the Lord for His safe-keeping and deliverance.  In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers we read of several different sacrifices that will give to the Lord a sweet, soothing aroma.  However, the prophets speak of a stench that goes to the Lord from people who no longer observe the sacrifices and the law of the Lord (I am speaking of the law written upon the heart).  It is a stench that is sickening.  It is vital to understand that the soothing aroma comes from a proper sacrifice.
       As believers we are to carry a soothing aroma with us.  We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore the sacrifices of our heart should be pleasant unto the Lord.

               "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.  And who is sufficient for these things?"
                              --2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NKJV)

We are to be as the "essential oils" because we carry the oil of the Holy Spirit with us.  When we serve in love there is a sweet aroma that goes to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:2).  Paul said that he received a gift from the church and it was a sweet-smelling aroma because of the sacrifice. ((Philippians 4:18)  We serve the Lord, when we offer the sacrifice of praise and do all things as unto Him, we send up a sweet aroma.  When we serve others in love there is a wonderful smell that arises.
       So, I ask, what kind of smell are you giving off?  Do you have BO (body odor) or did you put on your Old Spice or whatever deodorant you use?  What comes out of your mouth?  Does it make people want to shy away from you?  Because of your lifestyle, your actions, your words and deeds, do people smell the essential oil of the Holy Spirit?

D.C. Adkisson