One of my hobbies, and it was a secret until now, is cooking.  Every now and then I get the urge to relax by putting together a nice casserole.  You know, a manly casserole.  No chicken salad or stuff like that – hamburger, red beans, Tabasco sauce: a casserole that will kill any tapeworms that may be lurking in the intestines.  Real food that will make you want to burp after eating.

I was putting together a nice hamburger casserole that called for a small, peeled and finely chopped onion.  So I went to work on the onion.  I washed it, peeled it, and finely chopped it with a paring knife.

For the entire rest of the evening, my hands smelled like onion.  Anyone who may have been around me that late afternoon would have said, “That guy has been handling an onion!”

It made me think that where you have been and what you have been doing will leave a fragrance of some kind in your life.  If you have been with Christ and Christian people, you will smell good.  If you’ve been practicing wrong or companying with morally challenged people, well, chances are you will smell pretty rotten.

When my sons were teenagers I could always tell when they had a date.  First, they would stay in the shower longer than usual.  Then they would emerge from their bedroom smelling like the cosmetics counter at a large department store!  But it smelled good. 

When you have spent time with the Lord, people can tell it easily. And when you flirt with the devil they can tell that also.  All the more reason for having a daily time with God.  It doesn’t have to be long – but five or ten minutes can have your spirit smelling great for the remainder of the day.

Did you ever consider the benefits of spending time with God for a few minutes daily?  This is not a legalistic requirement – “Have a daily quiet time or else God will get you!”  No, no.

 The first benefit is that it quiets your soul, unjangles your nerves, puts your soul in touch with the Maker of souls, the creature in contact with the Creator. 

The second benefit is that you come to know the living Lord better. You can get to know the Lord better in many ways and through many experiences of life.  But spending a quiet time with Him daily provides a distinct and particular means of knowing Him.

A third benefit is what spending a quiet moment with God daily can do for others.  Spending time in prayer for others is important.  It invites God into their lives; it softens their hearts toward God and softens your heart toward them.  Praying for others also gives you perspective on their lives and how you may be a better friend. 

Learn to spend time with God.  It will leave you smelling like a rose, not

Like an onion!