Taste And See

Recently, I asked a group of children to describe a cat as if they were telling someone who had never seen one before. They brought up ears, tail, fur, size, and sound, but their description of a cat could very easily have been another animal. Finally, one little girl raised her hand and said, “I know what a cat is because I’ve seen one before.” It’s possible we could describe a cat in such detail that someone who had never seen one before could identify it, but is that how we teach children? Of course not. We show a child what a cat is, and they’ll recognize it easily for the rest of their lives. This week, I’ve been thinking about the importance of knowing God – not knowing about Him but knowing Him. We could describe the presence of God in every way we know how, but it will fall on deaf ears to someone who has never tasted and seen the Lord’s goodness. However, if someone truly experiences God’s presence; if someone encounters His goodness, they’ll be unsatisfied with anything else.

This is an elementary example, I know, but it’s a powerful truth in a society wrought with confusion. There are roughly 4,000 religions in the world, but there is only one that’s true. Only our God created the world and upholds it by His Word. In John 14:6, Jesus said,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”

Jesus is the only way, but the enemy does everything he can to convince people of anything other than the pure truth. The Bible says the devil is the father of lies and deception is simply believing a lie. 2 Timothy 4:3-4,

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

In our society, many have “itching ears,” convinced of things that make them feel good but don’t align with truth. Paul spoke of this to the Corinthian church which was established in a sinful and religiously confused society. He said in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4,

“I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”

Paul’s concern was in their inability to discern between truth and a lie, and this is echoed in Galatians 1:6-9 where he wrote,

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

Especially today, the church needs to heed the same exhortation. There is only one gospel, and we must be guarded against deception, without fear. It’s the knowledge of God that protects us from deception. Just as the little girl told me she knows a cat because she’s seen one before, we cannot be deceived when we know truth and remain in it. When you know someone well, you can recognize their voice without even seeing their face, but if a person is just described to you, it would be difficult to pick them out of a crowd!

Knowing about God won’t guard us from deception. We must know Him. We must know what He looks like, what He sounds like, and how He operates. We must encounter His love. He waits to make Himself known to His children and if you’ve tasted what’s real, you’ll never be swayed by what’s counterfeit! 1 John 2:20-21 says,

“You have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.”

1 John 2:26-27 says,

“I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

Stay, remain, and abide in the truth. When we abide in Him, His truth will abide in us! Experiential knowledge of the Word of God and encounter with the One whose eyes burn like fire will keep you from ever settling for anything less. How could you settle for cardboard when you’ve tasted the bread of life? How could you settle for darkness when you’ve seen light? How could you walk in confusion when you’ve known peace? Regarding the many “antichrists” in the world, John wrote,

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

We will never convince the world of the truth of the Gospel only by telling them about it. The cure for confusion is looking into the face of Jesus. Every generation on the earth today is hungry for truth, whether they realize it or not. He is the way, the truth, and the life. I encourage you this week to abide in the truth of His word and encounter His heart anew. He waits to make Himself known to us! As it says in 1 John 5:20,

“We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”