By Pastor Ron Buxton
A woman brought her baby to the pediatrician, complaining that it was constantly crying. Seeing the loud commotion, the nurse quickly led her to an examining room. All the vital signs seemed normal, and yet the child kept screaming and crying uncontrollably. And so, the nurse closed the door to not upset the other patients.
Upon opening the exam room door, the doctor asked, “What seems to be the problem?” He had dealt with choleric children before, but this 8 month old appeared to be the loudest he had ever observed.
“I’m not sure”, said the distraught mother, “that’s why I brought him here. He’s been this way for a few weeks now.”
The doctor looked over the clipboard regarding the child’s medical history. Nothing out of the ordinary. And so, he placed the stethoscope over the baby’s chest to listen to his heartbeat. But then it hit him. He looked at the mother and asked, “What’s that smell?”
Reaching towards the adhesive tape that secured the diaper, he pulled it open. The stench was now almost unbearable, as loads of baby waste spilled all over the examining table!
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”, shouted the doctor as he glared at the mother, “that’s your problem! When was the last time that you changed this baby’s diaper?”
The dejected mother looked at the pediatrician and responded, “Well, the box said that the diapers were good until 25 pounds!”
Folks, today I want to talk to you about unforgiveness. You need to realize that, in the unseen realm, the stench of unforgiveness is actually worse than a soiled diaper. And if that doesn’t get cleaned up and “changed”–you’ll have a painful cholera far exceeding that of the baby in this story! I’m not joking. How many people do you see each day walking around with a disgusted look on their faces? Could it be unforgiveness? Could it be that they are packing into their hearts– “emotional/spiritual excrement”? Not so funny, when you think about it.
Nobody likes that smell–especially God! Maybe you can’t smell it, but God certainly can. Truth be told– I’m sure that your real friends get a whiff of it every now and then! But thanks be to God that you can get “changed”! However, here’s the deal: just like babies can’t change their own diapers, you cannot cleanse yourself of the “emotional/spiritual excrement” within your heart. Let Christ cleanse you of the stench of that unforgiveness—first, in your own sins against God, and secondly, in unforgiveness you might have towards others.
But, of course, that requires us to first admit that we’re packing a loathsome load of unforgiveness. There’s the rub! I urge you to get that “stuff” cleaned up, and life will smell so much better! In fact, by God’s grace, you will become the aroma of Christ (2nd Corinthians 2:15). However, what do people now smell when they walk by you today? Get “changed”!
