Nothin’ coming together after my readings this morning, so I went back to the beginning of my online journal, to the early days of capturing these morning thoughts to see what popped then from today’s readings. This one resonated. Thought I’d put it out there again.

“Betcha can’t eat just one!” Remember that ad? I think it was a Frito Lay advertisement for their potato chips. But I can think of any number of foods which, for me, it’s hard just to have one. You get that first bite . . . or finish that first piece . . . and the taste buds have come alive . . . and the pleasure sensors are screaming, “More! More!” So, what’s this got to do with my morning readings? Well . . . in a way . . . Peter says the same thing . . .

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

(1Peter 2:2-3 ESV)

Far from being a chore . . . or a discipline . . . pursuing the things of Christ should be a craving . . . a craving driven by having tasted of the Lord’s goodness.

The NKJV translates ” you have tasted that the Lord is good” as “if you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” and the NASB says, “if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” Regardless of whether we talk about the Lord’s goodness, His graciousness, or His kindness, the thought is the same . . . if we’ve tasted of the Lord . . . then, betcha’ can’t eat just one . . . you will crave more of Him . . . and He will provide all you’re able to consume . . . and much, much more. His table is full . . . the feast is eternal . . . all that’s required is we come with bibs tucked under our chin ready to “chow down!”

So why is it a chore sometimes? Why can there be periods where we never go to the table . . . or, if we do, it feels like so much work? I think because, at times, we’ve lost the taste.

That taste we had when we were first saved . . . or, that taste we sampled when we saw God’s hand on our lives through an answered prayer . . . or, that bit of flavor we experienced when God graced us with an unexpected blessing . . . or, that taste on our lips from that portion of God’s Word that seemed to just burn in our hearts . . . or, that indescribable sensation when we actually knew we had heard the Holy Spirit’s voice or were keenly aware of Him prompting our spirits. All believers can think back to those times when they “perceived the flavor” of the living Lord . . . those times when they experienced God . . . when they partook of His presence . . . when they enjoyed sweet communion inside the veil with the gracious God of eternity. That’s the taste . . . the flavor . . . the reality . . . that propels us to seek Him more. Those are the experiences that constitute that “first bite” and so drives us to heaven’s door with our dishes in our hands crying, “Please Sir, can I have some more!”

But sometimes we lose the taste. The flavor is bland as we go through the routine . . . do the Christian thing ’cause that’s what we do . . . same old, same old. We open our Bibles . . . stare at them . . . maybe quickly read our devotional reading for the day . . . but we don’t really savor the food . . . we don’t linger over it to catch it’s subtle aroma . . . to taste the nuances that are detected only through the teaching ministry of the Spirit inside of us.

Or, we go to church . . . we don’t go to meet with the body of Christ, we just go to church. We walk in . . . take a seat . . . watch the show . . . gag at the worship team’s song selection or delivery of the songs . . . critique the preacher . . . throw in a couple of bucks . . . eat a cookie . . . and walk out. We really have no expectation of meeting the One who said that He would be in the presence of His people and amid their praises. We’re not looking to “love on” one another . . . or for that fact, to be “loved on” by anyone else. No expectation that we’ll hear the voice of God from the pulpit. So . . . we don’t taste . . . and the craving subsides.

Oh, how we need to taste that the Lord is good. How we need to be still and know that He is God. How we need to count our every blessings, count them one by one. How we need to savor our salvation. And when we do . . . betcha’ can’t eat just one! We will crave the things of God just like a newborn craves milk. Recapturing a little bit of the taste will result in a whole lot of desire for the Bible — “Word of God speak!!!” Sampling again that flavor of heaven will ignite our spiritual senses to earnestly seek and to know and to experience our God at the “next level.” No fast food meals here, it’s a lifetime of eating and savoring and digesting and growing . . . but, all the time, there is a tasting that the Lord is good . . . and that craving for more.

Father, help me not to lose “the taste.” Lord Jesus, You are so good! I want to know You more! I can’t eat just one . . . by Your grace keep me feasting at Your table . . . for Your glory . . . Amen!!!