BrethrenVoice <><><><><> The Search For Delicious Ravi Zacharias In Natalie Babbitt's wonderfully titled story The Search for Delicious, a king commissions his prime minister to write a dictionary for the kingdom. Things move along steadily as the Prime Minister works through the A's, B's and C's: "Affectionate is your dog"; "Calamitous is saying no to the King." Then he gets to the word "Delicious." "Obviously," observes the Prime Minister, "Delicious is fried fish." But when the King learns of his definition, he protests. "No, delicious is an apple!" replies the King. Then the Queen interjects, "No, delicious is Christmas pudding!" So a young boy, Vaungaylen, is sent to poll the entire kingdom as to the meaning of "delicious." But every person offers a different definition and conflict ensues. Soon, false rumors spread that the king's poll is intended to harm the citizens rather than find consensus. War breaks out and the evil Hemlock plugs the kingdom's water supply to overthrow the king. When the people can no longer draw water, they become desperately thirsty and question their king's sovereignty and his goodness. But in the end, the evil Hemlock is defeated and the water supply is restored. The people clamber into the stream, laughing and drinking their fill. "Delicious," said one man. "Yes, yes, delicious," said another. On the shore stand the Prime Minister and the King. "Delicious," said the Prime Minister, now understanding, "is a drink of cool water when you're very, very thirsty." And the King and everyone agreed. All of a sudden, need and pleasure coincided and delight ensued. Yes it is true, if you were to ask a crowd of people what is delicious, various tastes would come to the fore. But if famine threatened life, taste would suddenly give way to need. A mouthful of bread would then be delicious. God reminds us that He is the bread of life and that we are to taste and see that the Lord is good. How thrilling it will be for you when you can enjoy that relationship with Him that engenders both delight and fulfillment. The Bible tells us of a person who was hungry who dreamed he was at a banquet. When he awakened he was more hungry than ever. Many of the tastes of life the world offers leave us dreadfully hungry. When you taste the life Jesus offers you, you find out how wonderful and true is His gift of eternal life. You will cry out, "This is everlastingly delicious." Copyright (p)(c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) A Slice of Infinity is a daily radio program aimed at reaching into the culture with words of challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. A Slice of Infinity transcripts are also available on the Internet. If you know of others who would enjoy receiving A Slice of Infinity in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up on our Web site at http://www.sliceofinfinity.org. If they do not have access to the World Wide Web, please call 1-877-88SLICE(1-877-887-5423). Copyright notice: A Slice of Infinity may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and individual copies of a particular A Slice of Infinity email transcript may be printed, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose. However, A Slice of Infinity may NOT be reproduced in any form on the World Wide Web or in broadcast media, print media or other media without express written permission. RZIM considers requests to reprint, transmit, or otherwise reproduce A Slice of Infinity (or portions thereof) in broadcast, print, or other media on a case-by-case basis; please contact RZIM at 1-800-448-6766 to submit a request. Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of A Slice of Infinity must set forth the following credit line, in full, at the conclusion of the portion of A Slice of Infinity that is used: Copyright (p)(c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries