Parents everywhere wish for the perfect words to speak – words that would break down the iron resistance built up by their children to new, delicious foods. The dish could be the perfect imitation of the bestselling entrée of the most successful restaurant in America. Still, the child wrinkles her nose.
If only she would try it, a mother laments. If only he wasn’t too stubborn to admit that he likes it, a father grumbles. I’m sure that when master chess players make a deliberate move toward stalemate, the strategy books call it, “The Toddler Dinner Rebuff.”
God makes a plea through David that sounds like a patient parent looking to convince a child that good things come to those who give His goodness a try. David writes:
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:8-10, ESV
The invitation is so clear and simple: seek out the Lord and see what happens. Just give God and His ways a try and you will not be disappointed – guaranteed!
Other texts make persuasive arguments but here God suggests that we just sit down at the table and take in a good spoonful. God is good and when we give the godly life a chance, we’ll see wondrous results. He is sure we’ll agree that life with Him is the best life.
Paul makes the same claim, but in the opposite direction. He asks Christians to take a hard look at their old lives. In Romans 6, he answers questions about whether a gospel of grace will cause people to slip back into sin. This is a ridiculous notion to Paul because the two lives do not compare. He writes:
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
Romans 6:20-21, ESV
Paul urges us to remember the taste of the old life. Life under sin promises so much – pleasure, satisfaction, peace – and delivers on nothing. The end result of giving ourselves over to sin is a slavery that leads to death. Even being “free” from God was an empty freedom that led only to shame. When we taste worldliness, we see only its poison.
We serve a God who invites every person to taste and see that He is good. His grace can stand up well under the strictest scrutiny. His promises of care, life, and refuge are proven true time after time. Turn your back on the world’s false feast and come to His table. He will satisfy even the pickiest eater!