Taste and See part 4
In reality, it is only by tasting and seeing that we can KNOW that God is good. It's easy to say that, easy to try to tell someone that, but at the end of the day we need something more. We need something real. And God knows that. That is why He has gone to extraordinary efforts to SHOW us who He is. That is why He is never afraid to prove Himself to us. I quote this verse a lot, "Dear friends, we are already God's children, be he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is" (1 John 3:2). And I know that a lot of religious folk like to use this verse in the sense of some pie in the sky future day "second coming." But I don't see it that way (pun intended). I believe Jesus appears to us every day. We just have to be looking for Him in order to see Him. God is love, right? Love appears to us all the time. And when we see love... we be love. You are what you eat. What you see is what you be. God appears to us--and in us, and through us, and as us--so that we might know Him as He is... and know ourselves as we truly are... and know each other! That's what this life is for: Knowing and being known. Loving and being loved. Loving because we are loved! Tasting and seeing that the Lord is good is tasting and seeing that love is good! And when you know how good it is--when you know how good what you already have is--it makes you want to share it. To give it away. Because you know that you have what everybody--EVERYBODY--needs. Seeing a need and meeting it is the most simple and effective way to love someone. Building connections and relationships with people so that we can learn how to love them the way they need to be loved. Always remember, love is not about you. It's about the person you're loving. Love is never about getting. If you're making sure you get your own way... that's not love. If you're TRYING to get your own way... that's not love. Love doesn't have an ulterior motive. Love IS the motive. "Why did you do that?" Because I love you. Because it was in my heart to do it. That's where the real comes from. And people are so desperate for the real because we are surrounded by so much fake. The deep calls out ot the deep. The light in me and the light in you is the only way we can truly connect on the real, deep, meaningful level. Love is the bond that brings us, and keeps us, together. And you can't give what you don't have. You can only give what you do have. So you need to know what you have. You need to taste it and see it. You need to seek the Kingdom in the sense of exploring the Kingdom. Not in the sense of getting something you think you haven't got. Because you have the Kingdom. You're in the Kingdom. Because the Kingdom is in you. The Kingdom IS you. We don't just live in it, we ARE it. Because the Kingdom is where the King (Jesus) rules and reigns. He reigns in us, and through us, and as us. Wherever we go, there He is. Wherever we go, there LOVE is. You can always love people. Because you are always loved by God. And when you taste it and see it, you will want to share it. Because it's too good to keep to yourself. You have what everybody needs. You know how good it is. And you know what it's like to have been without out. So don't be stingy with what you've got. Give it away freely and generously. Live out of your abundance. Give what you've got. Because you know how good it is!