June 29

 “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:3

In Psalm 34:8, the Psalmist encourages, "O taste and see that the Lord is good"! 

The Apostle Peter echoes this sentiment about the goodness of God and reminds those who have tasted of it that they have a responsibility to separate themselves from the manner, attitude and practices of the world, and remain consecrated unto Christ in growth and service unto Him! 

The old adage “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” is applicable to all areas where the final evidence can only be arrived at by personal experience. This is true of food, for a prepared dish may appear appetising and delicious, but upon eating prove disappointing and bland. Conversely we may, based on their looks, turn down some dishes which are indeed tasty, nutritious and healthy! Once we have tasted and savoured, we are able to tell from firsthand experience, somewhat about what we have eaten! It is no longer someone else’s report, but our own conviction based on personal knowledge! 

This is what the Apostle is suggesting regarding our personal experience of salvation in Christ. We have known through the most reliable methods that the Lord is good, gracious, loving and patient. God’s word told us so, the testimony of others heralded it and finally our own personal experience confirmed it. What else need be done, to prove to us the graciousness of Jesus? 

Clearly God has provided all the evidence we need, so that to pursue His holiness, grow in His grace, give Him wholehearted service and reflect His love to others, should be the natural outcome and logical result of our lives. God performed a clear miracle when He gave us the ability to taste and enjoy His grace! 

A hidden miracle here, is to do with the noun of that word ‘taste’. Before we knew Jesus we had no desire, we might say ‘no taste’ for spiritual things! We were far from God’s concepts, His wisdom and had no understanding of the wonderful, incomparable treasures He holds. A bit like a dish we had never known, we had no idea existed and which our tastebuds had never measured or experienced. But when we first tasted of the goodness of God in salvation, we discovered what our souls had longed for and quickly developed a taste for spiritual things. All that had been unknown to us was now revealed, and we longed for more of the heavenly ‘taste’, the savour of the Saviour! God miraculously opened up, awakened and resurrected the spiritual man in us and we, who had been dead in trespasses and sins, became alive to the reality and wonder of the spiritual life in Jesus! His Spirit, His Word, His power and His ways, now touch and flavour every aspect of our lives. We are no longer without the ability to ‘taste’ the spiritual, but miraculously we can freely ‘eat’ and savour of every aspect of the goodness of God! 

What we tasted initially in our relationship with the Lord, was but the ‘entrée’ of the sumptuous spiritual provision which God has for us, and which we discover as we continue faithfully in our walk with the Lord. There should be no shortage of daily experiences in God, enhancing the quality of the believer’s life with the Master’s grace and goodness! If we find ourselves with lives resembling empty plates, or holding just a few tasteless and mouldy left-overs, it is only because we have failed to continue to come to the banqueting table of the Lord, where a spiritual feast of the tastiest heavenly cuisine, is always taking place!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion