The Taste of Honey

Psalm 34:8

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”

For two wonderful weeks, I recently explored the magnificent Berkshires region within the United States. Having my beautiful wife, Anne, who grew up there, as my personal guide made exploring this incredible area an even deeper delight. The trees, freshly adorned in their vibrant spring green, painted the landscape along the winding roads that snaked through the rolling Berkshire mountains. For five precious days, our lake cabin on the peaceful shore of Big Pond Lake became a serene refuge, far removed from the clamor of everyday life; a perfect setting for writing my next blog.

I was reading a sermon by Jonathan Edwards, a mid-1700s preacher born in this area. He became a renowned American revivalist, preacher, and philosopher, best known for writing “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” a classic in early American literature. He was regarded as one of America’s most important and original philosophical theologians.

In Stockbridge, Massachusetts, he delivered a message to his congregation, focusing on their understanding of faith and its role in their lives. People already knew Jesus had died for their sins. They were well aware that God loved them. They could quote Scripture and verse for many of the tenets of Christianity. They had the facts, the data. However, all that information had not yet been fully absorbed into their hearts to impact their lives.

Mr. Edwards gave an analogy of a man who had never tasted honey. For whatever reason, he never chose honey as his sweetener du jour. However, he had many friends who told him about honey's particular attributes: the amber color, viscosity, and smell. He was informed about how bees pollinate flowers, how pollen is gathered, how it is stored in hives in apiaries, how it is harvested, and all the pertinent information regarding honey. If asked what he knew about honey, he would expound on all the knowledge he had acquired regarding it. He thought he had learned a lot about honey. He proclaimed himself a ‘honey expert.’

But not until years after his ‘honey education’ did he have the opportunity to taste it. One morning, he saw the honeypot sitting on the kitchen table. He pondered why he'd never craved its actual taste, why all his 'honey knowledge' stayed on the sidelines, never truly savoring or absorbing it. Raising the dipper from the jar, he transferred a glistening drop to his fingertip. He then brought the golden syrup to his tongue, and in that precise moment, he understood honey in a way he never had before. The intellectual barrier dissolved; its true essence and complete experience were finally undeniably real.

The time between his ‘honey education’ and his first taste was a period of “knowing without really knowing.” So it is with many Christians. They have yet to taste and experience the riches that God has for them. All their “knowledge” has yet to be transferred to their hearts. They “know without knowing.”

Head knowledge serves its purpose, but the experiential wisdom — knowledge truly embraced by the heart — proves most profound.

Psalm 34:8 "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”