Do You "Smell" Like Jesus?

There have been many times in the past couple months that I've wanted to post something, but I haven't gotten around to doing so. Tonight is another one of those "past couple months", yet I don't want to pass up this opportunity to share.

This past Sunday, my buddy Nick was in town and he preached at our church. When I say, "my buddy", I want you to understand what I mean by that. This guy, Nick "the Greek" Pirovolos, is the founder of Inside-Out Ministries, a prison ministry. And this guy knows what he's talking about; he's been there. If you read his book and then ever get a chance to meet him, or vice versa, you may not believe that it's the same guy. No joke. That's how awesome Jesus Christ is, and how He can change lives for the better. And, this guy, Nick "the Greek", is old enough to be my grandfather. And he's my buddy. I met him when I was in middle school, so I've known him for about 17 years or so. (Good gravy, that's a story there...) Nick's my brother in Christ, my friend, and definitely my buddy.

Okay, so now that you have a general understanding of who my buddy Nick is, I can continue.

Nick was in town Sunday, and preached at our church. I'm always so excited to see him, and this time was no exception. I only get to see him once or twice a year, so the few moments we get to say hi, give each other hugs, bug each other, and talk a bit are very precious. After each of these visits, I end up smelling like Nick.

Yeah, I know. You may be thinking something like, "What in the world...is that a good thing?" or "That's weird." And, yes, it is a good thing. Whatever cologne Nick uses smells really good (at least in my opinion), and after hugging him, the shoulder of my shirt smells like it and so does my hair--and I smell like Nick for the rest of the day. It makes me smile.

Well, yesterday I woke up and my hair still smelled a bit like Nick. It made me smile. My hair didn't need washing yesterday, and this morning when I woke up, I was amazed; I still smelled faintly like Nick. I smiled and said, "Lord, are You serious? I still smell like Nick."

Although I don't smell like Nick anymore (yeah, I washed my hair today), the thought still makes me smile. And the best part of this whole thing is what the Holy Spirit showed me.

See, when I spend time with Nick, I end up smelling like him--and if people get close enough to me at that point, they may know I've spent time with Nick. When we spend time with Christ, we end up "smelling" like Him--and people know we've been with Him.

And I know I want to "smell" like Christ all the time. I want people to know I've been with the King--like how Moses' face shone when he'd been with God back in Exodus (34:27-35). That "smell" or "glow" can fade, however, but I sure don't want it to disappear. Just because the "smell" fades, doesn't mean it's gone; it just means it's more difficult to detect. Sometimes this goes with living our day-to-day lives. We're Christ's, and we're talking with Him (praying) and hopefully reading at least a bit of His Word every day, yet we may not be spending quality time with Him. Kind of like how I know Nick is my buddy and I e-mail him or write him a letter every once in a while (and have called him once or twice), yet I don't get to spend much time with him.

There's a difference, though. Although I can pretty much choose how often I e-mail, write, or call my buddy Nick, I don't have much control over when I get to spend time with him. With Christ, however, I can choose when, where, and how long to spend time with Him--and whether it's out of habit, because I should, or because I want to. In other words, I can choose whether I spend time with Christ, or spend quality time with Him. And it doesn't have to be hours and hours. Sometimes just a few moments with Christ is enough to make me "smell" like Him for a week--like how just a few moments with Nick caused me to smell like him for a couple days.

One of the best compliments that my youth pastor has said that she's received is, "You reek of Jesus!" I want to "smell" like King Jesus all the time. And not faintly, either. I want people to know I've been with my King.

Do you "smell" like Jesus? Do you want to?