A new fabric might be able to give off a pleasant lemony aroma. A team of engineers from the University of Minho in Portugal has developed two ways to modify cotton fabric to let off a citronella aroma when it comes in contact with sweat. The scientists used a protein (found in pigs’ noses—the irony, right?) that sticks to scent molecules. The hybrid kinds of cotton released the scent when they came in contact with an acidic sweat solution. As a bonus, citronella is also a popular insect repellent and could help keep both the mosquitoes and foul body odor away could soon be as simple as sweating.*
Okay, this is kind of a neat solution to smelling bad when you exercise, but the bottom line is that this is only a short-term fix. Everybody knows that no matter how much you smell like a lemon—you’re still a sweaty, nasty, dirty lemon! The only long-term solution is to take a shower (with soap) and change your clothes.
Who Are We Kidding?
This, of course, is a great object lesson for how many people try to live their lives. No matter how much people try to clean it up, not talk about it, or be politically correct, the stark reality is that we are all sinners. Without a saving relationship with God, we will be eternally separated from Him.
Trying to ignore God, just live a good life, or “be a good person,” and hoping it’s enough to meet God’s standard of perfection and righteousness is akin to putting cologne on a corpse.
Dirty Clothes
Whether you like exercising or not, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah put each of our statuses without Jesus bluntly: “We’ve sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved! We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags” (Isaiah 64:6, MSG).
Not to be too earthy, but the original Hebrew word that describes the status of the rags refers to those that a woman uses once a month to manage her menstrual period. Talk about not being politically correct!
Payment in…Death?
I remember my first job (where I paid taxes) and my first official paycheck. I proudly took it to my local bank teller and told her to give it all to me–in ones!
I was rich! Or so I thought! But no matter how wealthy I felt, the fact was that I only had a pittance.
But, all of humanity was born sinful, and the payment for sin is the same—in fact, it’s actually worse…much worse! It’s straight-up death! The Apostle Paul gives us the bad news: “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death” (Romans 3:23 & 6:23a, MSG). But you don’t have to receive that payment. You can reject that payment and accept another payment in its place. The Apostle Paul again writes—but this time he gives us some great news: “But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master” (Romans 6:23b, MSG).
Got Jesus?!
Several years ago, a simple, funny, and powerfully effective advertising campaign on TV was paid for by the people who produce milk…(no, not the cows…the people who own the cows). This series of commercials always ended with the tagline: “Got Milk?”
The Apostle John, in a sense, asks all humanity the same question by writing this profound and powerful statement: “This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life” (1 John 5:11, 12, MSG). I would ask you the same question: Got Jesus?
If you don’t, today’s the day to accept Him and all the eternal life He has to offer. It’ll be the best decision you’ll ever make, and in the end, you won’t be covering up the smell of a corpse with cologne.
No! You’ll bring the dead back to life—eternal life!
*Downloaded on May 20, 2020, from https://www.cnet.com/news/scientists-create-fabric-that-smells-better-the-more-you-sweat/
