On a recent visit to my childhood home, I found myself over-enthusiastically sharing some of my favorite things and memories with my husband. My eyes widened as we approached a chocolatier that I frequented when I was young. A flood of “sweet” memories immediately came to mind. This place served the best chocolate covered popcorn I had ever tasted! What made it even more magical when I was a child was that they gave me FREE SAMPLES of one of my favorite treats! Needless to say, as an adult, I was so excited to share it with someone else (especially someone with a strong affinity for sweets), so he could experience the same delight.
As I experienced all of the emotions of sharing the special landmarks and food spots, I began to think about how this same idea applies to our relationship with God.
Psalm 34:1-2 (ESV)
"I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.”
David is describing his commitment to verbally communicate the truth of God’s goodness. The same way that I constantly talk about and praise some of my favorite things, David delights in and enjoys God so much that he can’t help but talk about Him! Verse 8 says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” The goodness of God is real to David - as real and exciting as those places and things I was so eager to share. The same way I urged my husband to taste and see how good the chocolate covered popcorn was, David is urging us to experience the goodness of God.
So how do we know that God is good and that He is worth sharing? David himself answers this question.
Psalm 86:5, 10-12 (ESV)
“For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.”
He loves you! And His word and the Christian community are full of the proof that He has done great and wondrous things. There’s nothing that we could taste, see, or experience that deserves our praise and affection more than the God that David so beautifully describes.
A friend told me a couple of weeks ago that she had the opportunity to go to an evangelism seminar, and at the end of it, they went out into their community to share the gospel. She explained how nervous she was and how she felt like she would fail at sharing her faith. As I talked to her, a story came to mind.
I was sitting in my favorite restaurant (one that I had successfully brought every single one of my local friends or visiting friends to) and a stranger began a conversation with me. Apparently, she had already identified my enthusiasm for this restaurant and thought that I would be the person to ask for help before she ordered. I proceeded to share all of my favorites, telling her the things that she absolutely had to try, and she smiled at my excitement.
As I talked to her, I realized how much the Kingdom would grow if we all had as many passionate conversations about the Creator as we do about His creations. True, it might be easier to convince someone to try something at your favorite restaurant than it is to convince them to take a step toward Jesus, but the good news is, you don’t have to persuade or convince, you just have to be a witness to the sweetness of who our Father is.