At the gathering of friends held in Yerevan in September 2022, all of us came to know one another together, developing within ourselves the ability to see what is good and beautiful in another person. This activity was called ‘eating a friend.’ We chose another candidate ‘to be eaten’ and took turns expressing what we liked about that person. It was evident to everyone how the people being discussed shone with happiness and rejoiced within themselves at how delightful they were.
Friday arrived. At sunset that evening, we gathered around the common table to welcome the Sabbath. We wanted to sing and praise our God. Gratitude for our gathering, for the love among us, and for all the miracles of grace we had experienced—all this was expressed in prayers of praise to our dear Lord. Although our entire gathering resembled a day of rest, we welcomed the Sabbath in our customary way—with joy and simplicity of heart.
When the spiritual portion began after the singing and prayer, I suggested that those present ‘eat’ Someone very delightful. Silence settled over the room. Although coming to know one another was itself a blessed activity, we had gathered to glorify God, and therefore none of us wanted to draw attention to ourselves on this beautiful evening. I understood this as well and did not intend to focus our entire fellowship upon one person. I suggested, ‘Let’s “eat” Jesus now!’ Everyone looked at me in surprise. I asked each person to describe what he or she liked about our Savior, and I began by listing the good qualities of God’s soul that had been revealed to me during my friendship with Jesus.
You cannot even imagine how delightful our Lord is. We could spend an endlessly long time describing every good quality of His soul and lingering over the details of each characteristic.
The Bible tells us some delightful things about God. It reveals the beauty of God’s character, dwells upon the qualities of His love, and makes it clear that our Creator is exceedingly beautiful and abundant in mercy toward His creation and toward every one of His sons and daughters. When you begin listing the qualities of Jesus’ character that have been revealed to you and come to mind, and listen to similar testimonies from your brothers and sisters, you understand how great our Heavenly Friend is in His love for all of us. And how many invisible things He does for us! Every second, He protects us from every evil and pours unseen blessings upon His dear children.
According to Arsen, the house in which we held our gathering was located in the most crime-ridden district of Yerevan. We were warned to be very attentive and careful whenever we left the house. Yet three days after our arrival, while we were standing outside the house, one of the local crime bosses approached us and assured us that we were his guests. If we experienced any problems with other residents of the neighborhood, we were to give them his name and say that we were visiting him. Fortunately, we did not have to make use of this man’s kindness, but I noted the following for myself: when your ways please the Lord, He makes even the enemies around us to be at peace. We believe that the Lord provides us with the best and most reliable protection, although at times He even uses crime bosses for this purpose.
Our Sabbath welcome continued at length as we reflected and testified about the wonderful Friend we have in our lives—how beautiful our Savior is, how wonderfully and many-sidedly He reveals Himself to each of us, and how fascinatingly He manifests Himself within every good soul. If we carefully examine all the beautiful qualities of our souls and then compare them with Jesus, we can confidently declare that every good quality within us is certainly present in Him as well, only in a more perfect form. This leads to the conclusion that none of the goodness we possess within ourselves or see in one another is truly our own. It is given to us by the One Who is altogether lovely and the Chiefest among ten thousand. Song of Solomon 5:10, 16.
As I listened to my friends describe how delightful Jesus is, I understood that I also saw everything they saw, and that only because of Him do we all become delightful to one another. He is our salt, our fire, our sweetness, and our inspiration. Everything good within us comes into being through Him, and nothing delightful becomes delightful without Him. In essence, it is not we ourselves, but He within us, Who makes us beautiful, kind, holy, and very delightful. We need only immerse ourselves in the One Who is all in all and become saturated with Him to the deepest and most distant rhythm of the heart, so that afterward we may give those around us the beautiful flavor of life that Heaven has given us forever.
This is why Jesus asks us to love one another, so that within this love we may delight in Him—in the qualities of His beautiful soul, the flavor of His Eternal Life, and the fragrance of His unconditional agape and friendship—while also bringing joy to our Heavenly Father.
The Lord is glorified when we bear much good and delightful fruit with which to nourish all the people and friends around us.
Jesus is very delightful within us, but He is most delightful in a close and direct relationship with each one of us. Taste and see for yourself. Nowhere will you find a more faithful, close, kind, and gracious Friend. He will never tell anyone your secrets. He will always understand you when you sincerely come to Him in repentance, for help, or with some important matter. He is never so busy that He has no time for me. At any moment of the day, Jesus is always near, ready to participate fully in all my plans and needs. He respects my freedom of choice and does not prevent me from living, even if I choose the wrong path. Yet He does not remain silent, but very gently points out my mistakes and offers something better. How joyful it is to plan anything with Him! He is the finest Specialist in everything that exists. He understands the structure of the universe down to the smallest detail and perfectly comprehends the nature of each one of us, from the soul to physical health.
Jesus has a plan for every person, and this plan agrees so completely with my abilities, tastes, and desires that when I joyfully receive it from God, it seems as though I am fulfilling my own dreams. My heart thanks the Lord for such mercy toward me and for His wisdom.
The most wonderful thing we can receive from Jesus is contained in His counsel to Laodicea in Revelation 3:18. We are offered an Eternal relationship with the entire Heavenly Family and the possession of all the blessings of Heaven. We never even dreamed of this.
How delightful it is to ‘eat’ the One Who is the Most Delightful! Our evening meal began with remembering the goodness we receive from Him, and it will never end, because everything we tasted that evening continues to live within us, bear fruit within us, and nourish our bodies and minds with new discoveries of the beauty of God’s character.
Do you like Jesus? Do you know how delightful He is? Can you share this flavor with your friends and cause them to fall in love with this feast? Are you drawn to try once again and taste the One Who is so good to us? ‘O taste and see that the LORD is good.’ Psalm 34:8.
Bible Verses for Reflection
John 17:3; Exodus 34:5–7; Psalm 34:8; Isaiah 9:6; Song of Solomon 1:15–16; 5:10–16; 8:14; Isaiah 40:11, 25–29; 41:9–14; 42:8; 43:4, 11–13; 44:2–3, 7–8, 24–28; 45:11–12, 23–24; 46:3–4.