Feb 28 2024 Have you tasted God’s grace?
Rumor has it, each year at a certain Bible college they would host a day where everyone would bring a lunch and eat outdoors in a grassy picnic area. All were welcome and the school invited great speakers from around the world to come and talk on these days.
One year, a renowned speaker was invited and–surprisingly–spoke for over two hours trying to prove that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as a historical resurrection, he believed the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional “mumbo jumbo” because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who (in his opinion) had never risen from the dead in any literal sense.
He then asked if there were any questions.
About a minute later, an old country preacher with a head of short white hair stood up. He said, “Sir, I got one question.” All eyes turned towards him. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began to eat it. “My question…” crunch crunch “…is a simple one.” crunch crunch “Now, I ain’t never read those books you read.” crunch crunch “And I can’t recite the scriptures in the original Greek.” crunch crunch He finished the apple. “All I want to know is one thing. This apple I just ate: Was it bitter or sweet?”
The speaker paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion. “I cannot possibly answer that question for I haven’t tasted your apple.”
The white-haired old preacher dropped the core of the apple into a sack, looked up at the speaker and said, “Neither have you ever tasted of Jesus. When you taste Jesus, you’ll know the Truth and others will know it on you, too.”
When you taste of the grace of Jesus in your life, you will never be the same again.
Pray with me:
God, as we approach this season of Lent and the death and resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ, help us to get it in our heads and hearts and in every part of our being–how much you love us and how much you want to help us become like you’ve always wanted us to be from the very beginning–the kind of men and women you want us to be. In a time when there are so many counterfeits, help us to be authentic. And the only way we can do that is to have you living in our lives. Lord, come into my life. I invite you in to stay, to clean me up, to help me to become the person you want me to be. Amen.