In the local doughnut shop, Tommy B. and I sipped coffee and talked about stuff and how all the stuff in our lives was there because God allows stuff to happen so that he could keep making us into what he wanted us to become. The scriptures say that we are His personal workmanship, created to do good works, which he created in advance for us to do. What a minute…he created it… in advance? That gets me excited because that means he already has this good stuff waiting for me…oh yeah, and you… out there, somewhere…but where?
As we sat in the doughnut shop sipping and talking and watching folks stroll in, well some strolled, some rolled and way too many waddled, I realized that the whole place smelled like sweet fresh dough and powdered sugar. Some workers, who handled the little calorie packed yummies, had the ingredients all over their aprons. Another worker was flipping fresh circles in the hot grease so that both sides were perfectly fried and then another picked them up with an icing hardened straw, only after white glazing covered the hot delight, and placed them in a box. You know what, when we left to go our separate ways, Tommy B. and I smelled like the doughnut shop. That’s when it hit me. Just like the folks in the doughnut shop smell like doughnuts, Christ Followers aught to smell like the mission field.
My buddy, Tommy B. was on a mission trip one time with my buddy Tommy H. They were in a tribal area in Peru for several days with a team of folks. Tommy B. told me that the trip was great but that he had the best time after all the other team members had flown out on the small plane leaving him and Tommy H. to fiend for themselves in the Indian village. Tommy B. looked at me as he told me of the sites and sounds of the village and of the children that wanted to touch them and just be near them. And so, there in that little village, the two Tommies had time to be touched…like only God can touch someone not expecting it.
Tommy B. told me that after the plane arrived to pick them up that he smelled like the village. As a matter of fact, he smelled just like the people that rubbed up against him and shook his hands and patted him on the back. Even his shoes and clothes had that distinctive smell of the place. Folks from another time and another culture made a smelly impact that has lasted for years on my friend. He can still get a whiff of that smell and sees those people when he speaks about that trip. Know what? That is called personalization and that is what hooks us in every aspect of life. Making something personal makes us who we are and what we do.
As Christ Followers, we should smell like the people and places that God has placed on our hearts. People, who like to water ski, smell like ropes and safety jackets and sunscreen. People who like to work with wood smell like the wood they work with and the glue that holds it together and on and on. Just like that, we should smell like the places we minister.
I bet, that in the early days, after being called by Christ that the disciples smelled like fish. I bet they reeked of them. The nets they used for years, the baits, and the water in the bottom of the boats, fish guts and hard work made these guys known for what they did. Then as they understood what Christ meant about being fishers of men…I bet their habits as well as their odors changed. I bet they began to smell like the places and people that they went to meet and give the gospel to. It only makes sense. They began to look and smell like the people they were spending time discipling, teaching, helping, and eating with, and we should too.
I am praying that you and I will smell more and more like the mission field that God has called us all to. There is no doubt that some are called and able to go local and some are called and able to go global…but there is absolutely no doubt that we are all called…and because of that mandate from God to “GO”…we should all be smelling like the mission field God has placed before us.
God Bless…wick jackson
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