I have been blessed with a very non-picky eater, and as much as I'd like to take credit for my 3-year-old gladly enjoying calamari, spinach, clams, steak, etc., every kid is very different. My little boy just started eating solids, and each time he takes a spoonful of something new, he shivers with the most repulsed look on his face. Then I try again, he goes for it, but with more dramatic nasty faces. By the third bite, however, he's attacking the spoon and yearning for more. It's good! But I can't convince him of that; he doesn't know it until he tastes it and finds that out for himself.How many times have you heard your parents say (or as a parent have said), "How do you know you don't like if you've never tried it!?" A pretty valid point, no doubt. But still we insist that it's no good without seeing for ourselves. Or maybe we smell it or take just one tiny nibble, and declare it inedible. But did we ever actual taste and see?
When people ask me where my faith comes from or how I "know" God is real, I can only reply that I know because of what He has done for me. I've tasted the abundant life and I have seen it first-hand, and it is more than clear to me that He is who He says He is.. He is very, very good!
Psalm 34:8 suggests this very idea: "Taste and see that the Lord is good." That's the only way you can know. It follows with, "Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!" Those who have trusted in Him, and handed their life over to Him, are the only ones who have actually tasted, and I'm sure they can tell you what they saw... a whole lotta good.
Psalm 25:8-9 declares, "The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way." Just to clarify, it says the Lord is Good, not necessarily religion and not at all Christians themselves. The church and its people can only hope to try to come close (with His help) to mirroring His goodness. But only He is truly good (Mark 10:18), the definition itself, and wants what is good for you. But if you never even try Him, you couldn't know that. So I don't blame those who question His goodness, because clearly they haven't tasted it. But it's never too late to try, especially when it comes to God.
I've tasted and I've seen, and He is so so GOOD! Can I get a witness??? :)
