Years ago, my husband and I had two dogs, Dixie and Chuck. Neither of them were purebreds and both were rescue dogs. While Dixie was the smaller dog, she was what we call the alpha dog—the boss. Together those two got into all sorts of adventures.
Both Dixie and Chuck had been trained not to chase or harm any other animal or bird in any way, and they obeyed this directive to a tee, with one exception. For a reason known only to her, Dixie loved skunks. Being the boss, Dixie led the way in their adventures and this included the occasional run-in with the skunks that lived in the pasture around our house.
We lived in the country, about a quarter of a mile north of a section of the Chikaskia River. Dixie and Chuck loved playing in the river, which was only ever about six to eight inches deep except for a handful of times in the five or six years we lived there when it flooded.
Many Sabbath afternoons, we would take the path mowed through the waist-high grasses down to the river to watch the dogs play in the water and fetch the sticks we threw for them.
One such Sabbath, we were headed back to the house when I heard my husband say quietly to me, “Run.” I wasn’t sure that I heard him, so I said, “What?” He repeated, a bit more urgently, “Run.”
I said, “Why?” He was already backing up the path away from me and pointing behind me. I turned just in time to see a skunk emerging from the grass with Dixie headed right for it. I yelled, “Dixie! No!” But Dixie wasn’t listening. She had to meet this new friend and she ran right up to the skunk as it turned around and raised its tail. I yelled for Chuck to come, and turned to run just as Dixie’s nose went right to that skunk’s tail. And with a resounding yelp, Dixie backpedaled away from that skunk very quickly.
When surprised or feeling threatened, skunks defend themselves by spraying a foul-smelling chemical that can cause irritation, temporary blindness, violent sickness, and a runny nose. It is strong enough that it can ward off bears and other potential attackers. But here’s the part about skunk spray that made it not only bad for Dixie, but for all of us. Skunk spray and smell can travel in the air as far as 3.5 miles downwind. While the wind that day wasn’t blowing hard, it was blowing straight toward us. My husband, Chuck and I ran as fast as we could to get inside the house, leaving Dixie to fend for herself.
When things had calmed down, we went out to give Dixie what had become a regular occurrence—a bath with some special, heavy-duty shampoo supplied by our vet to remove the smell.
You know, that experience, and the many others that followed for Dixie (because she never did give up her liking for skunks), is a lot like us and sin. Because of our sinful nature, we are attracted to the devil and seem to think that he is our friend, but, my sweet children, he is not. He tempts us to do wrong and when we give in, he just tempts us again and again. And the more we give in, the more sin fills our lives and covers every part of us until we are enveloped in the stink of sin.
But, there is a remedy. Just like we were able to use that special shampoo to get that horrible smell off Dixie, Jesus can cleanse us and remove the stink of sin.
David once did some very bad things, and all he could sense of himself was the stink of sin. So he prayed, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. … Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:7, 10
And Revelation 7:14 tells us that God’s people won’t be stinky with sin when He comes to take them to heaven because they will have been washed clean. “These are the ones who come out of great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
I have a great many favorite songs and one of them is titled Are You Washed in the Blood? I’m sharing the words on the right.
Remember, the devil is not your friend. But if you forget or even purposely give in to his temptations and you start to stink of sin, just go to the fountain flowing with the cleansing blood of Jesus and He will wash you, clean you right up, and make you one of His children.
The next time you smell something really bad, say to yourself, “I don’t want to smell stinky with sin, so I’m going to ask Jesus to always help me to do what is right and to remember that the devil is not my friend and that sin stinks.”
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?