The Bible On Trial

Take Your Medicine~

So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he *said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." " I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter." Rev. 10:9-10.

My dad was a physician, and when I was young and got sick my dad would often bring me medicine to take that he said would make me feel better. One particularly awful experience was when my twin sister, Denise, and I both contracted the measles, and were basicaly quaranteened in bed for what seemed like a long time. The only thing that my dad said he could give us was a liquid that he said would help reduce the fever to a managable level; otherwise, we just had to wait it out. What that liquid was I do not know. In the '50s the only thing available was aspirin, as Tylenonl and IB had not yet been invented. All I know was that what dad gave us tasted AWFUL! This stuff was so bad that "A spoonful of sugar" would not have helped make that liquid taste better, so we took it anyway. All I know is that is did help us feel better.

In the above text we see the opposite effect taking place; this 'medicine' tastes sweet in the mouth, but is unsettling in the stomach. What could cause this? When we first discover that we have been fooled into believing a lie as if it is the truth, what does that realization do? The LIE tasted good, but when it hits the 'stomach' it is a bitter pill. Lies always seem sweet, until you realize the affect they have on your spiritual life. Removing lies and replacing them with the TRUTH is always painful, and can be sickening. Yet when you go through the process of Sanctification and come out the other side you realize just how awful those lies were, and how sweet is the Truth.