The Taste of God (A Five-Minute Focus)
"Taste and see that the LORD is good."
What is your favorite food? What could you eat almost every day? What food do you crave most often? We all have favorite foods. God created us as unique individuals, including our culinary likes and dislikes. But we are alike in that God created us with a reliance on food to live. But our wise and loving Creator also gave us taste buds so that all food would not taste the same. Think how boring that would be. What if steak, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and ice cream all had the same texture and taste? Who would care what they ate?
But food does have different tastes and textures. And we do have taste buds and taste likes and dislikes. God has given us a sense of taste for our pleasure. He wants us to enjoy eating! But eating can easily become sin! Just ask Adam and Eve! We are on this side of the Fall but eating can still become a sin. Do we eat to live or live to eat? Many Americans, Christ followers included, eat too much food that is more detrimental than good - sweets, food filled with preservatives, food with lots of fat and calories but little nutritional value. God created us to enjoy food but not to overindulge.
What is it that makes various foods taste differently? The taste of the food itself and our taste buds. Our taste buds combine the five basic tastes - sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and savory (Umami) and send a message to our brains that the food either tastes good or tastes bad. Only five tastes! Five tastes that can use to praise God!
Sweet
Do you have a “sweet tooth?” Is chocolate a part of your everyday diet? Do you crave donuts? Do you long for a cookie? Did someone say, “COOKIE!!!” Well, then, when you experience that delectable sweet thing, whatever it is, think of Psalm 119:103 - “How sweet your word is to my taste- sweeter than honey in my mouth.” As you bite into or drink the sweetness, take five and praise God for his Word. Thank him for inspiring the Biblical writers to record his “66 Love Letters to Us.”Bitter
I will be bold and say that no one likes a bitter taste. When something tastes bitter we either avoid eating or drinking it or we find something sweet to add to it. It is interesting that the word bitter is also used to describe someone who angry, disagreeable, and unhappy. Their bitterness is usually caused by unresolved events or issues in their life. Our natural tendency is to, as much as possible, avoid things that taste bitter and people that are bitter. What if next time you encounter a bitter person your reaction is not one of avoidance. You take the time (even if it is five minutes) to show them the love of our Savior. It might be hard, but your presence might be the catalyst that moves them to overcoming their bitterness.Sour
Some people love the taste of sour, but others dislike it. Most people lessen the sour taste with sweetness— more sugar in their lemonade, for example. Unless you like sour, it is probably not a taste that you experience on a daily basis. Sour can also mean to spoil or become rancid. Most of us have inadvertently drank sour milk. Imagine that you just drank a mouthful of sour milk. Yuk!!! Has your time with God soured a little recently? Has the sweetness left? Our times with God should be sweet - not bitter or sour. Psalm Psalm 90:14 says, “Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.” God wants the time we spend in prayer and reading his word to be a sweet time. If yours has become a little sour, talk to him about it.Salty
Most of us like salt - but not too much. We like the flavor of salt. Whenver you use the salt shaker to add just the right amount of saltiness to your food, think about Jesus words - "You are the salt of the earth.” (Matthew 5:13a CSB). We can be Jesus’ salt in the lives of people we interact with each day. Take five minutes to show someone Christ’s love and, if possible, speak into their lives the truth of Jesus.
Savory (Umami)
Terminology changes. What used to be know as “savory” is now “unami). But the definition is the same. Savory is described as “full of flavor,” “delicious,” and “tasty.” What a great definition for being a Christian in the world today! We have the opportunity to be “full of the flavor of Christ,” “delicious” to the ears of others, and present the “tasty” fact that God is love - even if it is only for five minutes at a time. Be savory in someone’s life today!
Besides being the taste of Christ, we also need to taste God himself.
“Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8 CSB)
What does it mean to “taste and see that the Lord is good. It means that at times we may have a wrong picture of God. We may be puzzled, hurt, sad, grieving, and many other descriptive words because of how we think God has acted or responded to the events in our lives. But God is good! He desires the best for us - even if we do not believe or realize it. The Psalmist challenges us to move beyond our situation and “taste” the Lord - for we will realize that he is indeed good!