Goodness of God
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
“I know in my bones that God is good,” my friend said. I knew what he meant, and so did the psalmist of Psalm 34; tasting, knowing in our bones, experiencing the goodness of God.
I’ve used the phrase before, and it has stuck in my imagination. It speaks to me of knowing deeply, from the core of our beings, in our very bodies that God is with and for us, that He has our wellbeing well in hand. It speaks of having tasted and seen the goodness of God. It includes cognition, but suggests something deeper and more extensive as well. This is the grace we seek.
This kind of knowledge comes from meeting and knowing God through Scripture and His creation. It comes from tasting weekly in worship — again and again — that Jesus has given himself for us. It comes from the shared life of community together, and even through suffering, where we taste of God’s faithfulness in the depths and darkness. In all these ways, and more, the Spirit of God works to confirm and deepen our knowledge of God’s goodness so that we are strengthened to live lives of goodness and beauty reflecting the goodness we’ve tasted in Jesus.
Today, this week, and in the days and weeks to come may you taste God’s goodness, and know it deeply, from your bones.
In Christ,
Peter+