Friday, November 18, 2011

Taste And See That....

My wife is an excellent cook.  Out of all the many dishes that she fixes so well, my favorite is her broccoli casserole.  Kathryn boils the broccoli; takes melted butter and unites it with Ritz Crackers; and smites it with Velveeta Cheese (and smites again!).  Yes my friend, I have tasted and it is good!

I know some will say, Broccoli!  Yuk!  I understand.  That used to be me.  I was once among the broccoli haters.  I stood afar off and said things like, "Anything that has to be covered in that much cheese can't be good."  I made fun of those who ate it, insisting that they were just weak individuals. 

Still my wife wavered not.  Though I resisted and rebelled she continued to make broccoli casserole and invited me to taste and see that it was good.  She would bring it to family functions.  Everyone hoped she would.  They would all dig in, enjoying it, persistently insisting, respectfully so, that I didn't know what I was missing.  It was clear that my ignorance was not going to prevent them from enjoying the goodness.

Then one day it happened.  I can't really tell you the time nor the place, but it did happen.  I was invited yet again to taste - and I did this time.  Suddenly the scales fell off and my eyes were opened.  I tasted and it was indeed good - very good!  I became a believer, a professor.   That which I had once hated, now I loved.  And I am still enjoying it to this day.

The Scriptures say:

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Ps 34:8, ESV)

For those of us who have experienced this, O how we long for others to do so as well.  O how we long for our children to taste and see that the Lord is good.  But perhaps your son/daughter has no taste for the things of God.  What should you do?  Continue to put the Lord before them.  Continue to enjoy the goodness of the Lord yourself, all the while inviting them to taste as well.

Now I know that there is a huge difference between tasting broccoli and tasting to see that the Lord is good.  However, I remember in my broccoli rebellion days I would observe everyone enjoying my wife's casserole, and I would quietly think: They certainly seem to be sincerely enjoying this stuff.  Could I possibly be missing something here?  Looking back, their witness to the goodness was quite compelling and not easy to dismiss.

So Christian mom/dad; Christian spouse; Christian co-worker; keep feasting on the goodness of the Lord - and continue to invite others to taste and see that the Lord is good - because He is.

Pastor Van

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