Delicious sweetness. These tropical Owl Butterflies were being given oranges which they sipped delicately through their own built-in “straw” – the hollow tube extending from their mouths. Orange juice is rich in flavour and gets its kick from the fructose & glucose. It must be every butterfly’s dream to go out for fresh oranges!

Most of us respond to sweetness: it’s a treat which affects our hormone balance! Too much sugar is actually toxic for people. Yet it has an almost addictive quality, and modern food processing uses sugars and fats to make our food almost irresistible.

Butterflies are presumably smarter than us- I’ve never seen an obese butterfly!

Honey and sweet fruits were “luxury” items through most of history. People would usually only have sugary foods at harvest or special feasts & celebrations. Higher status and wealth gave access to sweet treats. The poor had little access to sugar. Turnip, anyone?

Do you see now why the Biblical use of “sweetness” is so important? Psalm 119:103 says “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

God’s Words are compared to special luxury treats. What God has said and is saying is EVEN BETTER than eating a honeycomb.

The psalm encourages the worshippers to relish the best God can give. The Lord speaks of mercy, love, forgiveness, justice and hope. When was the last time I read the Bible with an attitude of wild excitement and enjoyment?

Not every verse, sentence, letter or book is obviously “sweet” – sometimes it is medicine to the soul, a challenge to our willingness to obey and serve. Even so, a “spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” as Julie Andrews sang so sweetly…

How different is my attitude to reading the Bible when I realise it is a TREAT not a TASK?

Gloriously, it’s a treat for ALL who will read and obey. Not just the rich, the powerful, the top 1%. The invitation is simple: come and read- and rejoice in God’s gift to anyone who will receive it.

Perhaps we should eat oranges as we read the Bible; or as we hear the preacher on Sunday. Would we take it in better if our tastebuds are tickled?

One of the nicest things about these butterflies is the gorgeous colours they display after they’ve sucked in the sugar. Christians should also display to their best advantage after taking in the Living Word of the Living God- energised, but not bloated. If we stuff ourselves full of God’s honey BUT DON’T PUT IT INTO PRACTICE we become knowledgable fools… flitting and floating, and no use to anyone.

Note to self: it’s a TREAT, not a TASK. Now, where did I put my Bible?