Tasting God’s Goodness

Goodness By Bethany Woelmer

Preparing food is a daily process of tasting, adding more seasoning, tasting again, throwing in another spoonful or more slices, tasting once more, sprinkling more salt, tasting again and again, and...I’m sure you get the picture. Whether we are in the kitchen making soup, at an ice cream parlor choosing the perfect kind of ice cream, or at the dinner table trying a new food for the first time, our sense of taste is stimulated and doing its job, affirming our favorite foods and creating categories of “likes” and “dislikes” according to what we desire.

The act of “tasting” can reach beyond this type of sense, however. Forget about the ice cream you are now currently craving, or the plan for what you will soon make for dinner tonight, or the bag of chips I know that you are debating on grabbing. (Don’t do it!) Allow me, for just a moment, to orient your idea of taste according to what you receive from God in His Word. That’s right: The sting of the Law that burns your tongue, convicts you of your sin and condemns to death. Then consider the pure Gospel, sweet as honey, that fills your mouth with forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

The Israelites certainly had a liking for taste and its symbolic qualities which we can see in the Passover meal. The roasted lamb reminded them of the blood to be sacrificed to save their lives, the bitter herbs reminded them of the bitterness of slavery, and salt water reminded them of the tears they cried in Egypt. They were stricken with bondage, much like the bondage we face in sin. We, like the Israelites, cry to God in times of suffering, wondering where He is and asking, “Who will save us from this bondage of death? Who can free us from these ropes of sin that drag us further into our graves?”

To our old Adam the Law burns and kills. It tastes horrible, and we detest it. We spit it out in disgust, ignore it, and attempt to push it aside, time and time again. We find other pleasures in this world in which our selfish taste buds come to life. They leave us filled with all the riches the world has to offer; yet we are still hungry for something more. The food that the Law brings does not fully satisfy, because it rots our soul with poison and provides no nourishment or hope for life.

The Israelites’ meal also consisted of greens that symbolized the coming of Spring and new hope: “haroset,” a combination of nuts, apple, cinnamon, and wine, that reminded them of the hope of freedom from slavery, and a hard-boiled egg that not only symbolized suffering and oppression but also new life. God freed them from their bondage of slavery in Egypt and led them to the promised land of Canaan—the land “flowing with milk and honey.”

The Gospel sweetens and refreshes. It tastes good, because of God’s deliverance from sin for us that He accomplished on the cross. Jesus tasted the full punishment of sin and death, suffering each whip across His back and each pounding of the nails through His hands and feet for us. He tasted the bitter, sour wine on the sponge. He suffered death itself, and through His resurrection He defeated death, bringing us life and securing for us eternity in heaven.

The psalmist, David, said in Psalm 34, “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” in order to bring to mind the nature of those whose hope is in the Lord. We know how bitter the Law tastes and we find ourselves to be poor miserable sinners, yet we trust in God as our Deliverer who not only saved us on the cross but also continues to feed us with words of grace and mercy. These words “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” and “I forgive you all your sins” are some of the ways in which God’s words of life enter our ears and create faith in us.

Our mouth tastes Christ’s Body and Blood, our ears taste His words of forgiveness, and our eyes fix upon His crucifixion that accomplished this life for us. The praise that David refers to in Psalm 34 is described as being “continually in my mouth,” meaning that the faith we receive by God’s Word enters our senses, connecting us to Christ. Whether we are in the Divine Service, around the dinner table, or carrying out our vocations, we can taste God’s goodness to us. We can also taste the praise by which we return our thanks and proclaim to others what He has done. And in Christ, even the Law turns into a sweet and delicious food that the new man enjoys!

We need not try to come up with our own recipe for salvation. If it were up to us, we would cover up our sin by sprinkling in a few more good deeds. We would work our way into heaven by stirring together all kinds of good works and seeking comfort in the riches of this world. However, God had a different plan of salvation that did not include our works. He sent His Son to redeem us. In Christ, we lack nothing. God continually prepares for us an abundance of the fruits of His mercy, giving us a marvelous “foretaste of the feast to come” in the resurrection where we have eternal life. Taste and see: The Lord is good.

Bethany Woelmer is a member at Faith Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas.