Wasabi & Unsuspecting Parents

To my readers,

My favorite food is sushi.

I could honestly nearly eat this all day.  Let me explain that I do not eat only American sushi.  I am adventurous and love trying new sushi.  However, one of my favorite parts of sushi is putting a small piece of wasabi on top. 

I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

If you’ve never had wasabi, let me tell you that its not for the faint of heart. This small green ball is one of the spicier things outs there. It actually looks like a small gob of avocado if you are not looking carefully.  That is where our story begins.

The first time I introduced my mom to Sushi, she enjoyed it despite her reservations.  I naturally put the wasabi on my side of the place, knowing my mom doesn’t enjoy spicy food.  She saw me putting small pieces of it on my sushi and when I wasn’t looking grabbed the whole gob and put it in her mouth, laughing as she did so. 

“Haha! That’s what you get for hiding all the avocado…” before she could finish, I watched her entire face turn super red.  The wasabi had hit her and she had just tasted a ton of it. She tasted the burn that wasabi gives.

In the scriptures there is a Psalm that David wrote that says,

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Oh the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8, NLT.

It almost seems odd that David would use the word ‘taste.’  How can I physically taste the Lord?  Does he even have a flavor? Is it possible he tastes like chicken or maybe chicken actually tastes like God?

Joking aside-

My mom would be the first to tell you the intensity taste has.  There is something powerful in our sense of taste.  It can give us great pleasure and great discomfort.  It can both bring joy and sadness. 

Taste is an experience.

To taste something literally meant to experience something fully.  So when David says, “Taste and see,” he is saying to ‘Experience God fully for yourself and see that he is in fact as good.’

We often taste things that only end up being sour or bitter in the end.  We continually try to taste what looks great on the outside only to find that it’s rotten on the inside.  Stop trying to seek after things that will never satisfy.  Stop feeding on the things of the world that will never fill your emptiness. 

There is only one thing that you can actually experience, taste, and find it is good.  That is Jesus. 

Put the rotten fruit up.  Put the junk away. Taste and see for yourself. He says that there is always room at his table for his children, always.  Go experience God on your own and you’ll find that not only does he satisfy- but that he is good.

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Oh the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8, NLT.