A couple years ago, I made an 1,100 mile drive (in one day) from Fraser, CO (about 90 minutes west of Denver) to Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a long, but uneventful day and the conclusion to a great vacation in the Rocky Mountains.

In the days that followed, I began to notice a foul order every time I opened the door to our van. The smell became more powerful with each passing day. Having kids taught me to look for leftover food items, but my daily search yielded nothing.

It was not until day 6 that I found it. Tucked into one of the compartments in the backseat was a taco still in its wrapper. My son forgot he’d put it there. Once I threw it away–the taco, not my son–the smell was gone.

The only other time I experience that odor is when I’m running during the summer and come across a dead animal that’s been baking in the hot sun for a few days. There’s nothing else like the powerful odor of rotting flesh–whether it’s coming from the side of the road or the backseat.

The Bible says “our old self was crucified with [Christ] so that the body of sin might be done away with…” (Romans 6:6)

You don’t keep dead things around. My old self died and needs to be “done away with.”

By allowing the old self to stay around and giving into its desires–I wonder what kind of odor I give off–in this earthly realm, but also in the heavenly realm.

How bad does my rotting flesh stink?

How about yours?