Taste and see!

---

---

During the 6th day of creation, while His omnipotent hands were fashioning man, the Creator must have said, "Let there be taste buds!"

And God saw that it was good. 

With that one stroke of divine creativity our Maker thus declared that eating would be an act of diversity, and not monotony-a sovereign gift to the devoted fans of Ben and Jerry.

Ah, God is good!

Taste buds are the unsung heroes of the mouth, designed to recognize life's four distinct flavors-sweet and salty, monitored at the tip of the tongue; sour, examined along the sides of the tongue; and bitter which registers way in the back just before the food plunges into the digestive system.

Infants are the real beneficiaries of taste buds, possessing far more than adults and covering every nook and cranny in their tiny, little mouths. Obviously, it was God's brilliant plan to encourage eating and growth.

But by the time those infants get to be our age, their taste bud numbers have greatly decreased and re-colonized to the edges of the tongue. Obviously, it was God's equally brilliant plan to encourage our restraint at the dinner table. But, with a 100,000 buds still on duty, we have our work cut out for us.

You may be asking, "What do taste buds have to do with pastoring?" Actually, a lot!

It's no accident that scripture uses a taste-testing metaphor when describing the deep, rich, flavor-filled delights of God's word. For example:

? The Psalmist declared, "[God's word] is sweeter than honey and the drippings from the honeycomb."

? The prophet Jeremiah said, "I ate Your words and they became a joy and a delight for my heart."

? In the pit of his despair, Job was buoyed by God's word: "I love Your word more than my necessary food."

? Peter challenged young believers to "long for the pure milk of the word so that you may grow."

? The writer of Hebrews said milk (or, the mere tasting of the things of God) is for infants, "but solid food brings about maturity."

A scriptural diet is the ultimate meal for churches. Whether in a stained glass cathedral or a home Bible study, chewing on the promises of God is both satisfying and filling, and leaves us wanting more. It needs no seasoning or garnish. After all, God's words created the heavens and earth-there's not much we need to add. That's why Paul told his protégé to simply, "Preach the Word."

Without it a church will die of malnutrition. With it, a church comes alive. But, watch out! Once introduced to it, churches develop an insatiable appetite for it.

Not long ago, during China's crackdown on the underground church, government officials devised a plan they believed would eliminate Bibles and, in the process, disgrace its message. TV crews routinely filmed State Police throwing cases of confiscated Bibles into local cesspools to the delight of a well-rehearsed crowd. The officials reasoned that this disgusting act would forever associate the Bible with sewage, and thus discourage its rampant appeal and underground activity.

But instead of discouraging them, the church took note of the sewer locations, grabbed their boots and flashlights, and waded into the pools during the darkness of night to retrieve the Holy Scriptures. They took the Bibles home, washed and perfumed them, and laid them on their rooftops to dry. Once dried, the scriptures were redistributed throughout China to once again bring sweetness to their readers.

But God's word also has a bitter side. Both Ezekiel and John were nauseated by the gut wrenching warnings from the words they ate. And even today, their foreboding aftertaste is enough to turn any stomach-non-believer or church member alike.

So, whether it's to "show us the truth, or expose our rebellion, or correct our mistakes, or to train us to live like God," His word will always accomplish what He wants. It has to! And He's given us the privilege of serving it piping hot each week.