“Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—how good GOD is. Blessed are you who run to Him.”
Psalm 34:8 (The Message)

Finding the Sweet in the Bitter

It was my twentieth birthday. My new sister-in-law brought out a chocolate cake that she made me; I was sung to, and she served me a large slice. I dipped my fork into the creamy mounds of fudgy icing that was an inch thick, and slid it down through the dark, moist cake. Into my mouth it went! I proclaimed its deliciousness, and then choked the rest of it down. 

“Wait a minute!” I hear you asking, “Choked it down?” Yes. You see, I don’t like chocolate. I know, I know, that makes me weird, but I didn’t choose my taste buds. I did not enjoy that cake. Or did I? The flavor was, to me, awful, but the fact that my sister-in-law made it just for me made it so sweet. 

Fast forward to a couple of Sundays ago when we were served communion. The cracker I had was quite stale. When we took the juice, my friend made a face. I agree; it tasted pretty bad. But as I sat there contemplating that, I felt that it was appropriate for the communion elements to not be fresh, to taste bad. 

Why should our remembrance of His sacrifice on the cross be delicious? We are symbolically chewing on His body, grinding it up in our teeth. We are taking the symbolical cup of His precious blood, poured out for you and me. We are remembering His grief, His suffering, His ultimate sacrifice, His taking on our sins, that you and I may have eternal life! The most beautiful thing ever done for us was brought to us in the most brutal way. Why shouldn’t it taste bitter, that we might remember its sweetness?

I will never again complain about communion elements that don’t taste good!

“Jesus. Jesus, Your sacrifice leaves me in awe. Thank You for making Your bitterest hours the sweetest thing I can ever experience. With humbleness and gratefulness, I bow before You in thankful worship. In Your precious Name, Amen.”