There they sat, in clear plastic storage containers with blue lids… five-day-old leftovers.
You had sniffed the meat to make sure it wasn’t spoiled. Added a fresh quarter-cup of Italian dressing to the pasta salad to bring back the zing. And stirred the watery pool that had collected on the pudding. Then you called,
“Dinner’s ready!”
So they all came and they all ate. And it was okay, maybe, for middle-of-the-week must-goes, or just-before-groceries-and-the-cupboards-are-bare. But for the Sunday meal with special guests? For dinner with the boss and his wife? For a farewell send-off party or the celebration of a special accomplishment?
Leftovers aren’t for special times or special people. They’re what’s left over from times that we did consider special, from people we did really want to honor.
So it’s worth wondering, “Who do I put out the best china for in my life? Who gets the royal treatment, the choicest cut, the freshest fare? Me? The employer? The family? The house? The bank account? The television? ...
“God?”
Few of us really intend to insult God by giving Him the leftovers of our time and energy and devotion, fitting Him in when a gnawing sense of obligation overtakes us. Few of us realize that we approach quiet time with Him like we’ve just raided the fridge… that we reconstitute the same phrases we’ve used for years, and set out our prayers in little microwaveable dishes… We just wonder why He doesn’t seem too excited about what we’ve placed before Him.
What’s exciting about getting us when we’re dead-tired and our concentration’s shot? Getting our resources only after they’ve been picked over by everyone and everything that wants a piece of us? What’s so exciting about being offered leftovers?
We need reminded that God deserves better, but He’s not going to demand it. It’s up to us to offer our best, our firstfruits, our all. To spread it all out in a lavish buffet and say to God, “You are the One I want to honor, above everyone and everything else. Here is the best that I have.
“Come and dine.”
2 comments:
Wow...isn't that the truth. I just recently threw a Mother's Day/Graduation/Birthday party for my family. I spent many hours on Friday preparing desserts for the big event on Saturday. Everything had to be just perfect.
Since February, God has given me so much. So much that I don't even deserve. A wonderful new job, a new apartment, and a new car. A brand new start. Isn't that worthy of me spending hours to be the best I can be, hours in His presence, hours to celebrate what IS perfect? I'm humbled by your words. I spend my time with the Lord, but I need to spend more time. I need to give Him the chipper and hopeful parts of me each morning before work, and not the "leftovers" at the end of my day.
Thank you again for your thoughts...
Amy Miller
Thank you, Amy for sharing ... And thanks to Pastor Keith for his sermon on "leftovers" this past Sunday.
I do realize that not everyone is like you and me... some people are their dullest in the morning and their sharpest in the evening. (You and I are obviously not like that!). But the point is to, whenever possible, give God our best, no matter where or when that is.
Post a Comment