Many of the best things in life are enjoyed only through an acquired taste for them. Take a good glass of wine, or some music from Bach. I really think a good marriage fits into this, as we learn what makes a good marriage and acclimate ourselves to it. Relishing Scripture is an acquired taste. It's certain that when we're new born babies in Jesus we love the milk of the word of God. But to get into the meat of the word, and grow by that as well, we need to keep maturing in Jesus, and that involves an ongoing change which involves an acquired taste.
Why do we need an acquired taste? It's because we don't have the capacity in ourselves to take in and appreciate what is really good and from God. We need a change and this comes through grace, ultimately the grace of God in Jesus. That is the change which begins now, and is ongoing and lasts. It involves a process for us in Jesus, a part of our new life in Jesus.
What thoughts do you have on an acquired taste and what this means in your own life?
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6 comments:
I believe as we grow in Christ and we strive to know him more we have a hunger and thirst for His righteousness. I agree that we all need to move on and eat the meet. If my son wasn't growing I would take him to the Dr to see what was wrong and take care of it. The same goes with us and our relationship with Christ and his word. If we aren't growing then something is wrong that we need to change. Once you acquire the taste for the meat you don't want anything else. It satisfies.
i am thinking that the Spirit working in us develops a hunger for God.
sometimes we feed our hunger with healthy food that fills us in order to allow us to grow in good health and strength.
sometimes we get distracted by the world and feed our hunger with junk food, which fills us for a short time, but, does not allow us to grow or stay strong.
i think that, over time, we continue to learn that we stay healty with the food of God, and we grow weak and sick with a diet made up of anything else.
Amen, Kinney. I'm acclimated more to vegan like food, because Deb is into that. An acquired taste, but it's alright! But we need it in our lives, in our faith, to be sure.
Nancy,
Good point. That reminds me of some of the old music I listened to before Christ. I like it and listen to it a bit. But then I have to get back to the more substantial stuff, the stuff that will last, like from Michael Card and others.
It is ongoing if we're to keep growing.
My friend and former housemate Jason, when mentoring a young believer in his new life of faith, once described devotion to Christ much like an "acquired taste." Jason asked the guy, "Do you love your girlfriend?"
"Yeah."
"Would you do anything for her?"
"Sure, of course. I think about her all the time and want her to be happy."
"Well, was it like this when you first met her and began dating?"
"No, but as I got to know her, my affections for her grew."
"Well, think of it the same way with Jesus. You may think that making some sacrifices and changes in your life now are a pain you can't understand, but in time you'll desire Christ so much that you'll gladly do them."
I thought this was pretty insightful and has stuck with me since then.
I think the instant-enjoyment principle rules our lives, rather than a delay-and-discipline principle, which ultimately brings greater enjoyment--letting the fruit ripen to its full sweetness, if you will. Could practices and tastes requiring great discipline and persistence bring us greater pleasure simply because God himself has designed us to live with this very way of patience and Godward persistence woven into the fabric of our beings?
Andrew,
Very good thoughts.
Could practices and tastes requiring great discipline and persistence bring us greater pleasure simply because God himself has designed us to live with this very way of patience and Godward persistence woven into the fabric of our beings?
Good question. And I think it surely works both ways: the way that to be more like God himself we need this patience and God-ward persistence. And to unlearn the old of which we are not- we're the new in Jesus, yet paradoxically in that newness we must unlearn the old. Which like you say involves instant gratification in our society, which in the end leaves people utterly empty and unsatisfied (cf., Ecclesiastes).
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