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Wednesday 21 September 2011

What are you marinating in?


Had a dinner party last night with friends old and new. Just six of us, sharing laughter, memories, ideas, and, of course, food.
I did my sure-fire stand-by winner – a pork loin roast marinated for 24 hours in an unlikely concoction of ingredients. It’s easy; it’s tender; and it’s delicious.
It got me thinking about marinating as I walked Dusty. The sky to the north is aubergine – just beautiful. The wind is rising and the paler shades of cloud are flashing through the air. Every morning I marinate for half an hour in the stunning scenery around my home. The sights, the sounds, the smells tenderise my inner eye and relax my tense muscles and refreshingly distract my mind from its often fruitless preoccupations.
The Bible says to meditate on God’s word day and night. Marinate in it, in other words. Not be submerged in it, as that has a connotation of drowning. Not soak in it, as that raises images in my mind of flappy skin from lolling too long in a hot bath. Marinate, to tenderise the inner hardness and to impart a flavour that is delicious to others.
We are all marinating in the world we inhabit. Like sponges, we absorb the ‘vibes’ in which we live – if we work in tension and under pressure, that imparts a flavour to our personalities that we may want to counteract. We are marinating in our culture’s values, and it’s very easy then to become tenderised to things which are really unacceptable by God’s standards.
Not only was the pork marinated last night. Our deep friendship marinated each of us in a sense of well-being and love.
I’m heading for my Bible now, and hope to spend a few hours today marinating in the amazing Word of God, creator of the universe and yet incredibly, the father of us all who just wants us to know how much he loves us. I hope to hear something fresh from him today.

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