A few weeks ago, in his sermon, my pastor Wade said (when
talking about us being salt,) “Christians are to bring flavor to the world.”
This statement reminded me of something a friend once told me, “If we were
ice-cream flavors, I’d be vanilla and you’d be pistachio!” I’m not sure that
was a compliment. But I think she meant that she was classic, conservative, traditional,
predictable, and a popular choice and that I was …well … not. I almost started laughing in the middle of a
serious sermon as I remembered this.
I’m pistachio. Is that OK?
Consequently, this led me to a study of flavor. There are
supposedly seven flavors recognized by humans: sweet, salty, sour, bitter,
umami (savory), spicy, and metallic. I’m not sure where pistachio fits in. Hmm,
maybe umami?
I learned that smell can’t really be separated from
taste. Any company in the food production
area has to consider smell as part of their product appeal. The flavor creation
in their food product is done by specially trained scientists called
“flavorists.” These flavorists insure
the smell and taste of the food will work in the application for which it is
intended.
Well God seems to be our Flavorist. He has created us to be
a taste that will work in in His plan for presenting salvation to the world.
Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the salt and seasoning (flavor)
that is in the earth. But if the salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made
salty again? It is no longer good for anything.”
Wow, we are called to
be a flavor of the gospel to the world. We are no good for God if we’re not
actively flavoring those around us. I guess it takes all kinds of flavors to meet
the needs of those around us.
Sometimes we need to show the sweetness of
Christ’s love. Sometimes we need be the salt preservative and make sure God’s
standard in His Word is upheld. Sometimes we need to even be the bitter
reminder of the punishment for sin. Sometimes we need to turn up the spicy heat
and remind the world of the brevity of life and point the way to salvation.
Sometimes we will even leave a metallic taste that the unsaved don’t like in
that we point out the difference between our Christian life and theirs. And,
yes, sometimes we get to be umami, the yum of being a follower of Jesus.
Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your message to the world be
always gracious, flavored so that you know how to respond to everyone.”
We need to depend on our Flavorist to make sure that the flavor
we present works for His intended application.
2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But thanks be to God who always
causes us to triumph in Christ and through us spreads the fragrance of the
knowledge of Him everywhere.”
Our Flavorist makes sure that the fragrance (the knowledge
of God) matches the taste (salvation through Christ) as we spread the gospel.
We may be vanilla or, thankfully, we may even be pistachio or any flavor in between as long
as we are using the flavor God has given us to spread His good news to mankind.
It reminds me of the ice-cream shop that offers thirty-one flavors so that any
customer can get what they want. You are one of God’s flavors to the world so
that everyone can get what they need as you point them to Christ.
I’m pistachio.
What flavor are you?
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