I saw a guy standing in front of the magazine wall at Barnes and Noble stealing sniffs of aftershave. You know those cologne advertisement pages in magazines that you peel back and release wonderful scents. He was sniffing and then putting the magazines back on the shelf. I figured he was stealing because the person who bought the magazine wouldn’t get 100% of the intended dazzle. I wondered if they should add a sniffing device to the exit door along with the magnetic machines designed to catch thieves. A sales assistant could come running over and say, “Hey pal, you smell like Armani Code.” Of course that would mean the machine would have to sniff you on the way in and remember you if you were wearing it upon entry. They could call the machine Rover or Lassie. I understand they now have machines at airports that take your thermal picture to see if you have the flu.
There are few secrets left in this world. There is an electronic trail of almost everything we write or do. Those secret love emails you wrote to your sweetie are residing in some federal computer just waiting for publication. Your super market has a record of your last box of Oreos. So just in case you thought you were getting away with something, you’re not. One of my memory verses when I was little was Ecclesiastics 12:14, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” That was frightening. You can be sure I was deliriously happy when I discovered I John 1:9. It promises God will forgive EVERYTHING. Phew!
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 7, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574