During Christmas time, we bought some gift cards for some family members to a fast food Chinese restaurant. We knew these family members really liked this restaurant, so we figured they would enjoy the gift cards.
My children had never eaten at this fast food Chinese restaurant before, so they asked if we could try it to see why our relatives liked this place so much. So one day we stopped by and picked up some of this fast food Chinese and brought it home to eat. My ten year old son, who loves to eat, was not impressed. He even went on to say that the food was terrible and he didn’t understand how anyone could eat it. (I apologize in advance if any of you have an affinity for fast food Chinese, and hopefully you’re not offended by my son’s comments.)
So to back up a little bit, my son is a real foodie. He loves good food and he has a very distinguished palate. As a family, we travel to New York often and have had some very good Chinese food from there. At least for our taste, it tastes better than anything we’ve ever eaten at a Chinese restaurant in Texas, much less a fast food chain Chinese restaurant.
My son was so passionate about the experience that he went on to ask if we could just take our family members to a “good” Chinese place and let them taste what good Chinese food is really like.
He said “Mama, once they eat it, it’s going to blow their minds!” I literally laughed out loud at my son’s comments. He clearly felt like he had experienced something that these family members had not…and they had no idea what they were missing.
And that tied in so perfectly to a conversation I had with my son earlier that day. My son had asked me why we go to church so often, and why if there’s a special service do we take the time to attend that also.
I told him that it’s hard to explain, but once I had a personal relationship with Christ, and I have experienced His goodness in my life, I can’t help but want to spend time in His presence worshiping and taking in His word. I told him that I experience joy and peace that I just can’t explain. I assured him that one day he too will experience it for himself, and then it will click for him.
Just like the Chinese food, once he tastes the “good stuff”, he can never go back to the life he had before. It’s almost like watching TV your whole life in black and white, and then one day you get an opportunity to watch it in color. You can never watch again in black and white.
My experience with God has been a lifelong journey that has grown and deepened through many highs and many lows. At my son’s age and for a while into my young adulthood, I didn’t really understand why everyone else was so passionate about God. But, then I “tasted” it for myself, and I was never the same.
I don’t know where you are on your journey. But if you don’t know the Lord in a personal and deep way, I want to encourage you to push through and get to know Him through His word, through prayer, and through community. There is so much to be experienced in Him, and once you have, I believe you will never be the same again.
~Vijoy
