Imagine being on a tropical island, the ocean breeze gently blowing as you dine on the deck of a seaside restaurant. It’s evening, the stars fill the sky and sweet strains of island music fill the air. You dine on freshly prepared seafood garnished with lemony spices. The meal concludes with a scrumptious assortment of fruit laden desserts, coconut and freshly whipped cream. Ah, the sensation is so vivid in your mind you can taste it. My friends, such is the grace of God.
In his first epistle to the Church, Peter cites the psalmist and begs the church to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3). Like a newborn baby develops a taste for its mother’s milk, so too the people of God must develop a taste for God’s word which feeds and nourishes. When Peter says “the word that was announced to you” he means especially all the prophecies and promises concerning the Christ which are fulfilled through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Through the living Word that is his Son, God saves his people. Evil no longer has power over God’s people. The grave has lost its power to imprison the bodies of the faithful. Christ has triumphed! And so the sweet refrain is sung by God’s redeemed people, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ shall come again!”
As the psalmist reminds us, the Lord is so good to his people. God comes to our rescue, delivers us from our fears and brings us into his everlasting kingdom. The sweetness of God’s love and assurance of his promises are made certain through Christ our Lord. God’s Word is the healing balm for all doubt and fear. Even in the face of evil, the Lord blesses those who call upon his name and sing his praise. And so it is that God prepares his table and gathers the faithful for the banquet of heaven.
Satisfy my hunger for your Word, O Lord, and bring me to everlasting life in your kingdom. Amen.
In the Beginning 