It’s Not Salad, but Sweet Like Chocolate

“I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn't. It's a chocolate thing.”

― Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

So for 7 months I was a Minister of Youth, fancy title for Youth Pastor but whatever. I worked with two other guys and it was a good time. I learned a lot both on a personal level with my own faith, but also with teaching youth. It was a great experience and I am so happy I had the opportunity to work with these kids and experience the hardship, because there were many times when I just wanted to give up.

But as I am now done with the actual position and helping with the transition period happening it got me thinking about the last couple of months on our lessons about the Gospel and why reading scripture is important. With this reflection, it caused me to remember a quote from one of my favorite books.

“I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn't. It's a chocolate thing.”

― Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

Before I go too deep into this post I guess it would be useful to describe the quote. How it is used in the book is describing one of Don’s friends who gave her life to Christ who thought salad was more of something that you should eat, but didn't necessarily enjoy eating it. Now that is out of the way, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

So often we made out scripture as something that is boring, bland and tasteless. People, and I’m including people in the church, make it this way and take out any flavoring in it. BUT that’s not the case at all!

There is so much flavoring in scripture that you sometimes have to put it down because it is so overpowering. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just read Song of Songs…ummm there is a lot of passion in that book. I can’t help but get emotional when I read Hosea or feel like I am punched in the face when I read James. There are so many flavors in the Bible and we just over look it. We just like to make it palatable and don’t want to embrace the many tastes that it presents.

So the Bible to me is more of a chocolate thing. It’s sweet and gives me so much warmth and hope. It’s something delectable that causes me to savor each bite I take from it. It fills me up in a way that I cannot necessarily put into words, but I do know it is sweet. Each taste I take makes me want to share the taste to other people by offering them a piece of it.

But that’s just me.