"Taste and See that the Lord is Good"

Pasalm 34:8a says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

I've been thinking a lot about this verse recently, turning it over in my mind, letting it unfold. It's really struck me that the Psalmist uses the word "taste." He doesn't say "hear and see that the Lord is good," or "feel and see that the Lord is good." No. He uses the word taste. As I pondered this specific choice, a few things came to me:

First off, think about how much time a day you honestly spend thinking about food. Right after breakfast, you're thinking about what to eat for lunch, or what snacks you might have in between. You walk down the street and a certain smell makes you start to daydream about a hot slice of pizza or a tasty fried doughnut. Moreover, when you've had a truly delicious meal, you may think about it and talk about it for weeks to come. Who doesn't recount an amazing dish they had at a top of the line restaurant -- the flavors that hung on every bite and lingered to tease your brain as you left? Flavors fill our thoughts.

Next I began to think about how many different flavors and flavor combinations there are. There are literally thousands upon thousands of cookbooks, with millions of recipes detailing billions of combinations for endless flavor experiences. And new and inventive combinations are still being created today.

And it is THIS that the Lord is talking about: this infinite territory we are meant to explore as we "taste and see." And what exactly is this "tasting" in reference to? The Lord's goodness. THIS is what I'm meant to experience, to know in this life: a boundless, thought-capturing familiarity with the goodness of God. This is my rightful inheritance. I don't want to miss out on that.