Last night in our “Tattoos on the Heart” book study, we enjoyed and discussed Greg Boyle’s idea of ‘marinating’ in God’s love. It’s a funny thought, and one that he discovered from one of the homies at Homeboy Industries. It’s the idea of allowing oneself to simply be and rest in and meditate on the vastness of God’s love.
Boyle says, “Not only does God think we’re firme [‘could not be one bit better’], it is God’s joy to have us marinate in that.” Not only do we marinate in God’s love, which helps us discover our beloved-ness, it also brings God joy when we do so. Marinate in that!
Perhaps I’m overthinking the metaphor here, but I wanted to expand my thinking on this marinating idea. Here are three thoughts on the marinating metaphor:
- Marinating takes time. For marinating meats, it’s not something you can do last second. You can’t marinate chicken one minute before throwing it in the oven (ok…you can. And I have…but the final product is not nearly as good!). Likewise, our marinating in God’s love is not something to put off till the last minute. Spend some good, quality time marinating. Dedicate a portion of your day to meditating on Scripture, or simply basking in God’s love.
- Marinating breaks down. The process of marinating meats is important because it breaks down the meat’s tissue to make a more tender finished product. The acids in a marinade tenderizes the meat to maximize moisture absorption. Likewise, marinating in God’s love tenderizes us. To use a biblical term, God softens our hardened hearts when we marinate in his love. This helps us understand God’s love for us, and helps us reflect that love to our neighbors.
- Marinating reminds us that we’re not in control of everything. Yes, when we marinate meat, we control what kind of meat we have, what kind of marinade and how much of it we use, etc. But we depend on a whole lot that’s out of our control. I did not raise or butcher the animal from which I received the meat, nor grew the ingredients of the marinade. I am not in control of the chemical reactions that the acids in the marinade have on the meat tissue. All I do is stick the meat in the marinade and let the rest just happen. Perhaps our faith is similar. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul compares himself and another pastor, Apollos, to farmers with faith as their product. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” When we marinate in God’s love, we do not control how we will be tenderized or changed. We can control the decision to marinate, and how long we meditate. But God controls the rest – the most significant parts of marinating. I take great comfort in that. All I have to do is allow God’s holy marinade to break down the places in me that need breaking down so that I can see myself and others as God would have me see them.
Go and marinate in God’s vast love.
Pastor Drew's Desk 
I also think an important part of the “marinading process” is “isolation.” When you marinate meat, you put it in a closed container. It needs to be alone at rest. We rarely take time to be alone to just sit and think. How many hours (minutes?) a day do we just sit alone and think? Imagine sitting in your office, looking out the window, thinking. Your boss looks in and asks “What are you doing?” You reply “thinking.” Your boss’s reply would likely be “Get back to work.” If we don’t take the time to be alone and think (or pray or meditate), we will forget how to do it!! We need to isolate sometimes to be enriched.
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Great point, Vicki!
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