Savored Flavor
One of my favorite aspects of being in a new culture is trying different foods. In the Sahel of Africa, camels are like our cows and open-air camel meat markets are a dime a dozen. The meat is grilled on a large open fire pit that billows out smoked goodness to all who pass. It’s hard to resist a camel stand once that delicious smell collides with your nostrils. Thinly chopped meat, on a piece of fresh bread, add a little salt, and your taste buds will go straight through the stratosphere!
Not everything I’ve eaten in other cultures has given me this tantalizing sensation. Some tastes and textures I’d rather forget. There’s no way to know though unless you try it.
Food is a vital part of life, culture, and creativity. Surely that’s why Jesus often referenced food to describe principles of faith. Food has a way of connecting all the senses and imprinting our memories. There’s even a sense of adventurousness that food can offer if we step beyond the comfort of chicken nuggets and mac n’ cheese (for the record I love them both).
I was contemplating this recently at a friend’s house who invited people over to try exotic foods. It was a hard sale to get my children to try cow heart, but they were troopers. It was very tasty; I think my kids would agree! We all stepped into the unknown and expanded our palates together.
There are several areas in life in which our preconceived notions can paralyze us from a sense of adventure. When we have our predictable comfort zones, we can resist the tension of being stretched into new territory. Familiarity isn’t inherently bad unless it begins to impede our faith. Comfort and faith are rarely synonymous.
The essentialness of faith can’t be overstated. Faith is like plugging our lives into the power of God. Without faith, the daily experience of God in our lives is greatly diminished. God’s power hasn’t changed; we’ve not plugged in.
Faith isn’t an abstract concept that God infuses in us through osmosis. Faith, like hope and love, is to be activated in verb form. It’s in the activation of our faith that we experience a vibrant relationship with God. And faith can be activated in a variety of ways. Perhaps it’s taking a step into community with others. Maybe it’s reorienting our finances to prioritize generosity. It could be responding to an opportunity to serve someone else. These are all ways we can step beyond our comfort zones and exercise faith.
God woos us into abundant life a lot like the wafting smell of camel in N’Djamena, Chad. The Spirit pricks our heart and activates our senses. We respond by either embracing the opportunity or by suppressing it. I’ve responded in both ways, and I can’t think of a situation in which I regretted the former. Faith in verb form plugs us into the power of God and nothing this world can offer compares! Step into the adventure God has today.