Perceptions

Yuck. 
 
That's the first word that's come to my mind when I've thought of stuffing (you know, like at Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner). This was what I thought of it for more than the first twenty years of my life. 
 
What's the first word that comes to your mind when you think of stuffing? 
 
Most people like it. In fact, many people LOVE it. But when I was a little child my first experiences with stuffing were clouded by what it looked like. I suppose there are some, maybe many, children who can get over how it looks. I couldn't. I simply refused to eat it, from childhood, into my teenage years, and then into my twenties. In my early twenties, though, I began appreciating a wider range of foods, flavours, and culinary experiences. My mind began to accept that the concept of stuffing at least made sense. I mean, good ingredients soaking up delicious juices of a roasting turkey did seem like a good idea. But that ago-old barrier of how it looks was still too much for me. I conceded that it would probably be impossible to go an entire lifetime without at least sampling stuffing; so I came up with a plan. 
 
The plan: when I knew that I knew that I had found the woman I would marry, I would eat her mother's stuffing. 
 
And sure enough, after a few years and the advent of a romance with Laura, I knew thanksgiving was coming -- and yes, I would try stuffing at Laura's parent's home. 
 
I did. 
 
And you know what I realized? 
 
This is good. 
 
Have you ever had a negative perception of something that you later, to your delight, discovered was wrong? 
 
A lot of people have the wrong idea of what God is like. Many Christians can too. Somehow the notion of a white-bearded and easily angered power monger in the sky forms the idea of God for some. For others, whatever goodness they understand to be associated with God is overcome by a conjuring of more dominant attributes of nit-picking and vengeant holiness. Others find their inner worlds troubled because they have somehow come to believe God delights in wrath.  
 
Let me offer you three selections of scripture that contribute to a true understanding of what God is like. 
 
Here's a description of God that the Old Testament puts on repeat for us: 
 
"The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love." Psalm 145.8. See how many times you can find this phrase in the Old Testament. 
 
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" Galatians 5.22-23. Sometimes we handle this list as only a group of traits to aspire to. The Fruit of the Spirit is a list that describes what God is like! 
 
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13.4-8. This isn't just a passage of scripture for weddings, or to help people love better (although it sure helps with that!). Since God is love (1 John 4.16), 1 Corinthians 13 is a description of what God's heart and character is like. 
 
Maybe it would be good for you to slowly re-read these scriptures and let these truths about God reframe how you view Him.
 
 
I hope you will sample Him some more today.
 
"Taste and see," as the Psalms say.  
 
He is good. 
 
 
Pastor Mike