A Fish Dish
Dear Faith Family,
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate, Genesis 3:6.
Microwaves were the latest and greatest. So like any wise husband-to-be, I purchased one for my wife-to-be. Included was a microwave cookbook complete with pictures. One of the pictures was that of a delicious looking fish dish.
Convinced that the recipe would produce a delectable, satisfying fish dish, my now sweet wife commenced to cooking. And, there we were, newlyweds with a wonderful fish dish adorning the plates between us. After giving thanks, I carefully portioned out a fork-sized bite.
The moment my taste buds encountered the fish dish, a flood of thoughts filled my mind. 1. This does not taste like the picture looks. 2. Do I say anything? 3. This taste is not getting better. 4. Can I say anything? 5. This is awful! 6. Can I really eat this? 7. How can I tell my wife? 8. I can’t eat this. 9. How can I tell my wife?
I know, you want to know what happened, right? Well, that was over 35 years ago. And we’re still married. So, you want to know how I navigated that dilemma. Well, God is gracious. Somewhere my flood of thoughts was pleasantly interrupted by my sweet bride when she commented: “This is awful!” Those, my friend, were a gift of welcomed words!
So, what’s the point? Although some pictures paint a thousand words, other pictures flat out lie! Like when the picture doesn’t paint the facial expressions of the people as their taste buds are violated.
Isn’t that the story in Genesis 3? Sin looked delicious. Everything about the three-dimensional picture in front of Adam and Eve looked good, delightful, and desirable. That is, until it violated their taste buds. Talk about a flood of thoughts!
Instantly Adam and Eve were disconnected; from God, from each other, and from the world around them. Think that one through. Sin is still separating us from God, from each other, and from the world around us.
Thank God for Jesus. He alone reconnects us. So, don’t be fooled by the picture. Sin may look good, delightful, and desirable on the surface. But in the end, it’s just a bad fish dish.
Passing on the fish dish,
Pastor Karl
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