What Does Your Religion Taste Like?

We all have things that we don't like the taste of. Some of them are things that conjure up memories from the past that we'd rather leave behind. Some are things we've tried before and really don't like. But some are things that somebody else has told us we don't like. We haven't actually tried them, but we've become convinced that we don't like the taste. Often this means that we miss out on something good.

I think we do the same thing in other areas of our life as well. Why don't people attend church? Why don't people accept Jesus as Savior? Could it be that they have heard that Christians are a hypocritical, judgmental group of weak-minded fools? They just know that religion tastes bad and they're sure they won't like it.

The author of Psalm 34 is challenging his readers to "taste and see that the Lord is good." This is good advice for us today as well. The taste of our faith will be shaped by a personal experience with Jesus. If our experience is based on a superficial, every-so-often effort on our part, then we will have a tasteless, flat faith. If we are to taste the full, rich life that God has for us, we will need to invest more in the "tasting" effort!

Good News: God's Mercy (1 Timothy 1:15-17)

The best-known prayer 20 years ago was the Lord's prayer, but the best-known prayer today is the Serenity Prayer. It speaks to letting go of the things we can't control because so many find themselves in a situation they can't handle. It is the prayer adopted by many of the 12-step programs.

Paul understood God's mercy. He knew that the things he had done made him the worst of sinners, and yet God saved him. This is the chief characteristic of mercy - giving kindness and help to someone who doesn't deserve it.

Mercy is not something that God possesses, it's something that He is. His personal response to the worst sinner is mercy. Our first reaction is to desire punishment and revenge on those who wrong us. God's desire is to forgive and save us, He has unlimited patience...this is good news for us! Of this Paul says, "Here is a trustworthy saying..."

Mercy is God's redemptive patience in action. He is not willing that any of us should perish, but that we would each be redeemed. Mercy triumphs over judgement.

God's mercy changes how we live our lives. We can have hope for the future in spite of the past, and we can have hope for others in spite of the past. We can forgive and be forgiven.

Good News: God's Grace (Acts 20:22-24)

We are assaulted every day in the media we consume with the bad news from our world. It's easy to conclude that "bad" is how things really are for us. If we accept this view, we will not make good decisions about how we should live...not simply because negative thinking is harmful, but because this view does not match reality. In fact, things are "good" for us.

That was Paul's mission... 'testifying to the gospel of God's grace.'

'Gospel' means 'good news' and 'grace' is a special gift, something we did not earn and do not deserve. This good news makes all the difference in the world. We do not face a future filled with the bad things we deserve, but have been given all the good things we could never have earned.

Surely this should change everything about how we live our lives. Carpe diem... life is good for us!

1 Timothy: It's All About Grace, Not Rules!

We set up rules for our children to protect and teach them, but we want to have a loving relationship with them rather than a legalistic, command-and-control relationship. Sometimes we are happy to have them do as we say no matter the reason, but mostly we want them to do what we ask because they love and respect us as parents and as people. When our kids are in their 30s and 40s, we don't want them to come and visit us twice a year, just to stay in the will.

God's desire for us in much the same. He is not first, and foremost a “rule maker,” although he has given us rules to obey (the Law). He would much rather we love and respect him and as a result, do the things that please him. He doesn't want us to come to church once a week just to keep our place in Heaven.

The letters to Timothy and Titus are known as the pastoral letters because in them Paul is offering advice to two young pastors on how to lead their churches. I think the messages Paul gives are also useful for us to hear as parents and friends as well.

In 1 Timothy 1:3–11, Paul warns Timothy about those in the church at Ephesus who were preaching a false message of the Law. They wanted people to believe that God required everyone to follow a long list of rules. Many of the rules were ones they had made up themselves. Paul wants Timothy to make sure the people know the truth about God. How very true this is for us today as well. We are quick to make up rules for others to follow if they want to be "in the group." In the end, the rules serve only to destroy the very thing we thought we were trying to protect.

Paul then goes on in 1 Timothy 1:12–20 to talk about his own relationship with God and the Law. Paul had nothing to boast about in terms of his “credentials” as a Christian. He was anything but what most people would consider a model of a believer. He sums up the reason for telling Timothy all this in verses 15-16,

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NIV)

This is good news for all of us! If God can save Paul, then he can save anyone...including me. It is good that God is not a rule maker, because if he were, I wouldn't have a chance.