Cook-Out is the greatest restaurant of all time in the history of ever. Period.

Ok. Maybe I’m going overboard just a tad.

Seriously though: have you been? Did you know you can get a BBQ sandwich, a chicken quesadilla, cajun fries, and one of 40 different milkshakes for under $7? And it’s not just cheap – the food tastes incredible as well.

And they serve Cheerwine on tap. Heaven on Earth.

This is not a sponsored post. Just the endorsement of a true Cook-Out fan.

If you’ve never tasted Cook-Out, you won’t be able to taste what I’m talking about.

I can tell you this from experience. I didn’t believe all the hype about Cook-Out at first. When the North Carolina-based restaurant first hit Augusta in 2013, my boss was ecstatic. He was from North Carolina and tried to describe the many wonders of the fast-food chain to me.

Honestly though, cheap burgers and milkshakes didn’t sound that exciting to me. We’ve got Dairy Queen and Steak ‘N Shake and a dozen other places who can offer those.

It wasn’t until I actually ate at Cook-Out that I understood its greatness. The BBQ and fries had to pass my own personal taste test for me to believe.

So I can truly understand the invitation of Psalm 34:8:

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

If God merely told us to see that He was good, we would have a hard time believing Him.

After all, we are a skeptical species. Especially in a time where internet hoaxes run rampant and misinformation bleeds through even the most trusted outlets.

We must pass information through many a filter before we find it fit for belief. God understood this when He created us.

He knew to follow Him we would need more than words and recommendations. So He boldly challenged the world to a taste test. God asked all-comers to take a bite of what He was offering with a life-back guarantee.

He does this in full confidence that if we truly taste His bread and wine our eyes will fully see what so many have been raving about all these years.

I didn’t buy into the cult of Cook-Out on words alone. I had to taste it for myself.

I didn’t come to believe in Jesus based on words alone either. It was through the actions of those who reflected Jesus toward me, along with the ways I saw Him at work in this world, that allowed me to taste what He was truly offering.

I think we should keep this in mind as we try to reach the lost and hurting people around us.

The other day I drove by a Planned Parenthood office. Outside were a small group of protestors picketing. They handed out pamphlets and held up posters with graphic images. They screamed at scared women, as if their frightening voices would light the way toward Jesus for the weary souls entering the clinic.

These protestors were trying to get others to see God without offering a true taste of His love. And by doing so they surely left a bad taste in the mouths of those they encountered.

You would never convince someone to believe a burger joint was incredible by words alone. You would have to offer them a taste to convince them.

In much the same way, we will never convince others of the amazing God we believe in without giving them a taste of His nature – His love, His forgiveness, His grace, His joy, His mercy.

Let’s offer a taste of God’s love instead of just our opinion on it.