An old child’s verse tells of eating curds and whey.
Curds and whey? Was the child being punished? Eck! The poor thing must have gotten on someone’s nerves very badly.
The child in this story is little Miss Muffet. She first appeared in print in 1805, and depending on our source, she was either the stepdaughter of Dr. Thomas Muffet or Mary, the Queen of Scots. Either way, she wasn’t an urchin reduced to starvation fare.
Curds and whey were delicacies. Both come from milk, something consumed in the finest of homes. It takes extra work to made curds, the globular substance that’s the basis for fine cheeses the world over. Whey’s the stuff left over, and today, it’s consumed to improve athletic performance, as a food supplement, and as an alternative for people with lactose intolerance. It can also help with allergies, asthma, cholesterol, and cancers.
Curds and whey are pretty desirable stuff. In fact, they are God’s reward for right living. Isaiah 7:15 give us this promise:
“He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.”
Down several verses, Isaiah 7:22 ups God’s game:
“And because of the abundance… everyone… in the land will eat curds and honey.”
Exodus 3:8 is the Father’s assurance our abundance is on the way:
“And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…”
We find our curds when we refuse the evil and choose the good. We eat of the sweet cheese when we compliment our spouse with kind words rather than let our anger boil over. What remains becomes the whey that strengthens our Christian walk, provides sustenance to those who falter, and offers strength to the infirm.
Yet here’s the thing about curds. They need to be eaten fresh. Let them sit, even half a day, and they begin to lose their desirable characteristics. Our Christianity is the same. It’s the good we do today that impacts those around us. When God prompts us to give in the offering, be kind to a stranger, or visit the ill and infirm, we give our best when we give it fresh. We can’t wait, or our curds will quickly lose much of their tasty flavor when we offer them to the world.
Numbers 13:27 is our testament before the Lord:
“We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.”
What fruit do we want to show? What are our curds? Love, of course, for our fellow man, for it’s love that reflects the person of Jesus Christ living out his mission on this earth through each of us.
When we choose to live a good life in Christ, what’s good becomes extraordinary through him.
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Code: FGO.I.14.16b.vp.esv