My son recently returned home from spending quite a bit of time in Mexico City with my sister who is a missionary there. After throwing his bags down, he went over to the refrigerator and opened it, closed it, and then opened it again. He stood there, stared, and smiled. I had to ask, "Surely there was food in the refrigerator where you were staying." He said, "Yes but everything was written in Spanish."
He then went over to the sink, turned the faucet on, and scooped the cool water into his mouth.
I had to ask, "What is going on with the water?" It was as if he had never tasted water before this moment.
He said, "We couldn't drink the water out of the faucet." I smiled and thanked God for his wonderful adventures and lessons. Later on, I started thinking about his great adventure and the things he had learned to appreciate when God brought something to mind.
Sometimes when we open our Bibles, it is as if we are opening a refrigerator in a foreign country. We read the word, receive the food, and partake of it, but it has no meaning. I imagine so many Christians have refrigerators from a foreign country. And even more than that when we go to read God's word we really do act like we are grabbing something from the fridge. We give a quick peek in, grab something, and then we're out.
But something happens when we suddenly return home - especially if we have been away for a while. Something happens when we return to Christ. Something happens. Amazingly, it is like opening a refrigerator and being able to read labels for the very first time. Suddenly everything appears so much clearer. Suddenly the food we partake of has meaning and purpose - we understand what we are reading! Suddenly everything comes alive.
Recently we have had a lot of people at our church standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open. Not to grab a quick bite - not because they can't understand the language - but because the food looks so much better. The food tastes so much better. The food is better.
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