I read a devotion today which made me think of a discussion I had with a friend recently. The devotion told of a well-known scholar who was speaking at a university and he was speaking against the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The devotion went on to state that a minister, while eating an apple, stood to ask the speaker a question. The question asked was – “Is the apple that I am eating sweet or sour?” Yes, of course, this is a question which the speaker could not answer. Why would such a question be asked to the speaker? The answer is because the speaker, having never come to a saving grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, would never be able to believe the resurrection of our Lord and hence, would never have “tasted” Christ’s redemptive work within his own life. From a believer’s perspective, this speaker was presenting a message regarding something which he would never have any clue about, because of his faithlessness in our Lord.

Let’s look at the following Bible verse – Romans 8:9.
Romans 8:9 New International Version (NIV)(Biblegateway.com)
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

Looking at the devotion message from above, the speaker did not belong to Christ, and so he dwelt in the realm of the flesh, and could not understand the redemptive work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Those who have not received the message of eternal life will not understand a believer’s daily walk with our Lord.

At the time when I became a child of God, and “tasted” of the fruit of redemption, I could never imagine living my life again without my Lord and my Savior. And this thought brings me back to my first statement regarding my friend. My friend can never understand my relationship with my Lord Jesus. He can only say that he understands why a person would believe in God. But, in actuality, he does not understand …. because, sadly, he has never “tasted” the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus within his very own life.

Psalm 34:8 New International Version (NIV) (Biblegateway.com)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.