A good taste of God

I enjoy tasting samples of food. There’s something special about those tiny clear cups and miniature spoons. The portions leave much to be desired, but their purpose is to whet the appetite. Ideally, the customer enjoys the taste and seeks the actual portion.

The only way to like a certain food is to taste it first. For example, you don’t know if you like chocolate if you’ve never tasted chocolate. Appetite is a consequence of taste.

There are many foods I’ve never tasted. Consequently, I don’t know if I like those foods or not. I don’t have an appetite for those foods because I’ve never tasted them in order to know how good or bad they are.

You see, when it comes to God, many people have never tasted Him for themselves. As a result, many people live with no appetite for God.

The Bible says, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness” (1 Pet. 2:2-3 NLT).

Peter talks about tasting the Lord’s kindness. After tasting God, people should crave Him. They should cry out for Him. They should have an appetite for God. Why? Because appetite is a consequence of taste.

Have you tasted God?

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Ps. 34:8 NKJV).
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When you truly get a taste of God, you can’t help but crave Him. You can’t help but cry out for Him like a baby. Your appetite is big. You just can’t get enough of God.

Some of you know what I mean. You’re always hungry for Jesus. The Bible refers to Jesus as the “bread of life” (John 6:35) and the source of “living water” (John 4:10). I hope you have an appetite for God. But some of you don’t.

So here’s my prayer this week: I want you to get a true taste of God. Maybe you’ve tasted God, but did you get a good taste? Let me give you an example.

I really like ice cream, so I take advantage of my opportunities.

Last week, I decided to get soft serve ice cream in my school’s cafeteria. It was my first week of college, so I had never tasted this ice cream before. I pushed down the middle crank and filled a bowl with both chocolate and vanilla ice cream. The “best of both worlds,” ya know. I dumped some M&M’s on top and walked to my seat. It looked delicious.

But as I tasted the ice cream, I realized I didn’t like it. It had a strange texture. It wasn’t very sweet. My friend said it was a foreign ice cream made with literal ice and cream. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. I happily placed my bowl on the conveyor belt.

I won’t be eating any more of that ice cream. Why? Because I don’t like the taste.

Imagine if that was my first time tasting ice cream. I’d despise ice cream. I’d never want to eat ice cream. I wouldn’t crave ice cream, and I certainly wouldn’t cry for it.

In the same way, people often get a bad taste of God. Maybe a church refuses to let you enter unless you dress a certain way. Is God really that picky? Maybe a pastor shows hatred through his words. Is God really that condemning? Maybe a Christian doesn’t act righteously. Does following God even make a difference?

It’s so easy for people to get a bad taste of God. As a result, those people don’t crave God. They don’t cry out for God. They have no intention of developing a relationship with Him.

I’m not sure what side you’re on today. Perhaps you need to present God in a better way. On the flip side, maybe you need a good taste of who God really is.

If you need a good taste of who God is, I challenge you to read the Bible for yourself. Start reading in the Gospels. See who Jesus is for yourself. He is full of grace and love.
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And when you get a good taste of God, you realize how good He is. As a result, you crave Him. You cry out for Him. You just can’t get enough.