Now, most of us really wouldn't like the comparison between our hearts and the smell of decomposing rodents in our walls. We live in a 135+ year old house in a very rural area. We've apparently hosted a Mouse Hotel for a number of years and have recently closed down this project, but the mice have yet to get the idea. Even the poison we've put out to try and deter their visits don't always keep them away. Every once in a while we have a visitor who refuses to leave and eventually they definitely outlast their welcome! They drop dead in our walls and we must wait out the decaying process. This has also happened with birds in our chimney.

As we've been waiting out the "fragrance" I've had an opportunity to ponder the similarities between the unpleasantness of this situation with the issues we all deal with in our lives. Now, if these mice died in the open, I could simply pick them up (or I could have my SONS or HUSBAND pick them up) and dispose of them outside in trash and enjoy the fresh air of the living. But they tend to go into the dark places to hide and eventually die. This is so much like the sin issues in our hearts.

We don't want to expose our sin. Not to others, not to God and often, not to ourselves. So we continue to hide it. And there, in the darkness of our hearts, it begins to rot, and eventually to smell.

Now some of you may think, "Oh that never happens to me. I'm completely open and honest." Like Loker in the TV show Lie To Me, some people actually believe they practice radical honesty. But the truth is, we all hide things. Sometimes we hide things because we are just not ready to deal with them. Sometimes we hide things because we are hoping they will go away. Sometimes we hide things because we just don't want anyone to see them.

Many times it really isn't that big a deal because God will bring things into the light of our hearts in His timing. But sometimes, it is the smelly putrefaction of the sin that brings things to light. When we come to a place in our lives that we are FORCED to deal with them...because we cannot stand the stink of them anymore, we can finally begin to clear the air and allow the Spirit to work these things out in our lives.

If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

So, the question is, how does your spiritual heart smell? If it smells like my kitchen, then it is time to allow the Spirit do some revealing and cleaning. It makes things seemingly unbearable for a time, but the result will be refreshing and freeing - a sweet smelling aroma to the Lord - and well worth it in the end!

Blogging at Teaching What Is Good