Many people absolutely love lobster; for them it is delicious and the height of luxury. Steamed, or baked stuffed lobster served with lots of melted butter is a spectacular treat. Otherwise dignified people put on plastic bibs and dig in. Yumm!
But I wonder about the first person to ever eat a lobster. With their scraggly feet, bugged out eyes, tentacles, and big nasty claws they don’t look very appealing. They resemble giant insects, and are in fact related to insects. But one day long ago some brave soul picked one up and thought maybe they would give it a try. We know the rest of the story. Yumm!
A similar exploration must have taken place with mushrooms. Must have been a lot of trial and error. And by error, I mean fatal agony. Even today books on edible plants advise people not to hunt mushrooms from a book; they recommend going with an experienced gatherer.
There are some things it would be great to be among the first to try; some things are best avoided at all costs. How to tell beforehand?
As Christians we believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. So… he is our Leader and Guide. It can be scary to apply one or more of his teachings for the first time. It feels like stepping way out on a very slender limb. But if we don’t take the chance, who will?
It can be scary to offer forgiveness. What if they don’t feel they’ve done anything wrong and decide to strike again? We fear being rejected when we share our faith. There is often pushback when we speak up for those on the outside looking in, those who are abused merely because of the way they look. If we help feed the poor, will we have enough for ourselves? Lots of questions, lots of cause for concern.
Then we remember that our faith is in God the Father who made heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus, man of Nazareth, our Brother and Savior. We believe in the Holy Spirit who all day every day seeks to reach us with all the riches of the faith.