Jenny and I years ago had the privilege to vacation in Maui, Hawaii. This being our first trip to the Island, we decided to experience the local fare. We had heard about the famous Maui sweet onions rings serve at the high end Four Seasons resort. So we ventured over to Resort and their patio poolside eats and ordered one serving. Oh my! They were amazing - melt in your mouth Maui sweetness combined with a crunchy saltiness, such a balance of flavors that made any onion rings since, pale in comparison. We tasted love in a deep-fried veggie and we have never been the same.

“When you’re loved, you love.” If you have been accepted, approved, included and valued, you know it and it fills your tank. As we desire to live our best this year, love is key to living out our best and to bring our best to others. In the book of 1 John we find a foundational principle that creates the proper priority of where love is sought and found.

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

You and I, after experiencing, tasting and realizing the love of Jesus through his acceptance, forgiveness and compassion, find that we have a deposit of grace and love that was not a part of our lives until his proximity. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Out of this resource of love we are able to give away that which has been freely given and love others.

Once you tasted of the love of Christ, you are not the same. The basis of your identity is altered. You are approved and accepted, and you don’t have the same driven appetite to find these needs fulfilled in someone or something else. If you have never tasted of the love of Christ, ask him. Go in your room, close the door, and ask Jesus to reveal himself, his love, forgiveness, and acceptance. You’ll never be the same.

Q: Name the place and the food that made such an impression on your tastebuds.

Q: How have you personally and experientially tasted of the Love of God in Christ?