Taste and See that the Lord is Good: Eating Wisdom

My son recently finished a book called The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey. He found much there which stimulated his interest and seemed eager to discuss the book with me once he found out that I had read it. Problem is, it had been 5 or 6 years ago and I now remember not much more than the title and that I had enjoyed it.

He marveled at that bit of news in a sort of disappointed way. “What? How could I have read an entire book and not be able to remember any specific point the author had made? Why even bother to read at all then?”, he wondered.

I suppose I could have plunged into lecture mode and pointed out the need for repeated activation of neural pathways to strengthen memory. That wasn’t what occurred to me at the time though, glory be.

I pointed out that the pork chops and squash we’d had the night before didn’t retain their shape or identity once they’d entered my body. After I’d enjoyed their taste, my body went about the marvelous business of incorporating those morsels of animal and vegetable into the very cells of my own body. You are what you eat, right?

I have probably read 40 other books about Jesus since I’d read the Yancey book, each taking its place somewhere in my heart and mind, each becoming part of me in a literal way, shaping my understanding of my Savior, changing me from the inside: giving me wisdom.

Wisdom is a lasagna made up of the biblical truth I deliberately layer in, the thoughts of others I partake of through the written and spoken word, and my Holy Spirited-guided reflections on the experiences of daily life.

Bon Appetit!