The Ultimate Taste Test
We’re still a good five months away from Fall, but I know some of you are already missing football. Fall may mean football for you, but for me it means Pumkin Spice. In spite of what some friends from church think, I am not obsessed with pumpkin spice, but I am willing to give it a try in most anything. I’ve had:
- Pumkin Spice bagels
- Pumkin Spice Pop Tarts
- Pumkin Spice Moon Pies
- Pumkin Spice Cheerios
- Pumkin Spice waffles
- Pumkin Spice ice cream
I’m aware that menu sounds disgusting to many of you. For every pumpkin spice aficionado who says, “Mmmmm,” there is a person who says, “Blech!” That’s OK. That’s just more pumpkin spice for the rest of us.
My sons love sushi. I can’t stand the stuff. I’ve tried it—twice. I’ve really, really tried to eat sushi with my sons, but I don’t even think pumpkin spice sushi will win me over. I’m going to have to find other ways to bond with them. Thankfully, there’s buffalo wings.
No doubt you could tell similar stories of debates with family and friends over what tastes good and what doesn’t. We’ve got anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds and we can taste a variety of things with subtlety. (If there is 1/1000th of a pickle slice in a barrel of potato salad, my taste buds will scream at me.) We are unique individuals, and that translates to our taste buds as well. We all have different reactions to different tastes.
And that goes beyond physical taste.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8).
Does the Lord taste good to all people? He should, but sadly He does not. We eat a lot of things that are unhealthy, but we keep eating them because we like the taste. Too many of us acquire a taste for sin. When we savor our sin and want to keep savoring our sin, a taste of God’s goodness often does not taste good to our sin-soaked palettes. We get a distorted sense of God’s goodness as harsh and restrictive. Even though sin can leave a bitter aftertaste, we kept dining on it. And it’s not just unhealthy; it’s outright deadly.
We’ve all had the unpleasant experience of tasting something especially obnoxious. A friend talked you into it—“Try it. You’ll like it!—but, boy, were they wrong. With that revelation, you quickly reached for water and anything to release your taste buds free from their pain. (BTW, drinking a lot of water while eating a room-temperature apple or banana is one of the best ways to clean your palette.)
We need to clean our spiritual palette, but that is not something we can do alone. We need Jesus. On the cross He removed our sin, and with His forgiveness, He removes the bitter aftertaste of our sin. With our life’s palette cleansed of all other things—when we are focused on Christ—we taste and discover just how infinitely good God is!
“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pet. 2:1-3).
We may disagree on whether mayonnaise is good on French fries but trust me on this: The Lord is good—and He wants to immerse you in His goodness. Try it. You’ll like it.
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This post supports the study “Growing in Christ” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.
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