Bon Appetite!
I
love dessert! Whether it’s a chocolate
fudge brownie and a dip of vanilla ice cream smothered with hot fudge and
caramel sauce or my favorite cheesecake buried beneath fresh strawberries, I
look forward to a good dessert. I try to resist indulging in them, but my
figure advertises the fact I’m not successful.
As tasty as they may be, dessert items are not the healthiest choice on
the restaurant menu.
Sometimes
I treat God’s word like dessert. It’s
that extra, added benefit at the end of an otherwise average day like dessert
is the sweet treat at the end of a meal.
After all, doesn’t Psalm 34:8 tell us to “Taste and see that the Lord is
good?” I love to taste God’s
word. I can taste God’s word by reading
the scripture verse at the end of an entertaining, one page devotional. That’s like eating dessert. Dessert is often thought of as “comfort food”
used to soothe the rough edges off a bad day.
I can draw comfort from familiar verses and passages of God’s word.
However,
just as I cannot be physically healthy by eating only sweets, I cannot have a
healthy spiritual life by just occasionally reading the parts of God’s word
that give me a warm feeling. Sometimes,
like eating an appetizer, I’ll read an excerpt from the Word that should whet
my appetite for more; but I have a tendency to stop after the mozzarella sticks
and not go on to the main course. God’s word is compared to bread (Matt. 4:4),
a staple food of the Jewish culture. The
Word should be my mainstay and not just an afterthought or a starter.
Milk
is the main food of the infant because of its nutritional value. I am told to drink the pure milk of the Word
(I Pet. 2:2) because it will help me grow in my relationship with Christ. Just think about it…babies drink a bottle
about every two hours! If the parents
are slow with that bottle, the baby loudly lets them know it. I should not wait until I’m crying with
hunger for a word from God. I should maintain my spiritual satisfaction with
regular feedings of scripture. It might
just keep me from being quite so grumpy.
After all a well-fed baby is content and usually rests for a while after
a bottle. Imagine resting in the
fullness of God’s word.
As
a child grows she needs more than milk.
She moves on to baby food, junior food, and then regular meals. Ultimately, I need to progress to the point
that I am dining on the meat of God’s word (Heb. 5:12-14). Protein in our diet builds muscle and
strength. My spiritual stamina is
developed by digesting the more difficult and challenging passages of the
Bible. My faith is strengthened as I am
obedient to that which I have read and as I discipline myself to read not only
the comforting but also the convicting pages of the Word.
God’s
word cannot be merely dessert added as an afterthought or an occasional
pleasant flavor. Yes, I enjoy tasting
God’s word, but a dessert portion of it will not sustain my spiritual energy
during times of temptation and trial. I
must move to the place where I can say as Job did, “I have esteemed and
treasured up the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job
23:12 Amplified Version, italics mine).
I must eat a balanced diet of all the food groups in order to be
physically healthy, and I must eat a balanced diet of God’s word in order to be
spiritually healthy. I challenge you to
do the same. Dine on the meat of God’s
word while still enjoying an interesting appetizer or a delicious dessert. I’m hoping this will be your appetizer to a
scrumptious Scripture meal. Bon appetite!
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