Taste and See

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Psalms 34:8 ESV)
Sometimes, when I surrender the remote (or have it hijacked – some fights are worth losing!), we watch the Food Network. OK, I'll admit it: I like a couple of the shows. I'll even watch “Chopped” on purpose. There's something about unusual combinations and panicky chefs that piques my interest. YOU try combining squid and chocolate and butter beans in 30 minutes!
As the chefs work furiously, the judges watch and talk about what they hope to get. Something that is apparently very big with them is “complexity of taste”. They love sweet-sour-crunchy-peppery-salty, arranged on a plate. When one of the chefs does something surprisingly edible, the judges often talk about how he/she “developed depth of flavor”, which as far as I can tell means “This was tasty!”
Maybe – just maybe – the Lord is like a chef. Or to use the language of the Parables: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Master Chef in the kitchen...”
The Church is like God's signature recipe. He brings unusual ingredients together, spices it as only He can, brings heat and cold to work together until He has a unique, precious course, fit for a King!
In the world, there are sweet people and sour-pusses. There are tasty folks and bland ones, spicy, salty, vinegary, and hearty. God chooses from those who are there, and brings them into His kitchen/church, and begins to clean, combine, mix, chop, fold, reduce, until He is satisfied. The ingredients don't choose each other, nor the way they are combined. The pot and the stove have no say in what the Chef is doing. Salt and pepper to taste? He does that. 40 years for the dough to rise? His recipe. Develop depth of flavor? Comes from His cooking skill. Complexity? His Chosen Ingredients.
How will it turn out? Tasty. Very tasty indeed!
And whether you're the squid or the chocolate, you are an integral part of the whole, and welcome to add your flavors in the Hands of the Master Chef!