Leftovers

Leftovers are NOT a hit in my house.  Sometimes, I intentionality make leftovers so that I don't have to make a meal the next night or so that Ken and I have lunches ready for the next day.  Sometimes, however, leftovers just happen.  Someone didn't eat quite as much as I expected and there they are...the leftovers.  I am always optimistic when the leftovers first show up, thinking that I've saved some future food work.  But, more often than I like, I am disappointed when the leftovers are still in the fridge a few days longer than they should be.  The truth is, in my house, there are few foods that really seem as good the second time around and no one in my house really likes eating the same thing twice in a row.  Leftovers never really seem that appealing. But, hit or no hit, sometimes we just have to have the leftovers.

A friend of mine, Heather Dawson, recently posted something interesting about leftovers on her Facebook status.  It read: I served guests our fridge leftovers tonight. On purpose- to remind us to not give our leftovers to God. It was amazingly uncomfortable for everybody, so why is it so easy to do with the king of the universe.

What a wild experiment!  Brilliant really.  Here is what she said later in the comment stream that followed.

Nobody knew what I was up to, except our 2 oldest kids, who were writing down the comments being said. "why is this still frozen?" "weird dinner" "why are we eating this?" "are you serious? What else do we have?" "what are the grown-ups supposed to eat?" "wow- you're really going all out huh?" (sarcasm) "can I have something else?" After revealing what I'd done, even more truth came out: "it was awkward" "I was embarrassed for you" "i thought you'd just had a bad day" "I couldn't believe you would serve such a weak/weird meal to guests". "i wanted to order something to bail you out and not make you look bad" It was a very convicting reminder of how we often treat dinner guests better than we do a perfect, holy, sovereign God who gave His life to rescue us. Don't let Him be an afterthought...put time into Him. Give Him the first 10% of your gross income. Make sure things that you do will actually matter in 100 yrs. Don't just offer up a quick prayer at the end of the day and call it good! Don't give God leftovers...

I love that Heather did this.  She is a gutsy and Godly woman.  Her conclusion was convicting and challenging.  


God deserves only the best that I have to offer.  Sadly, I usually fail to give Him my best.  Yet, oddly enough, I could be satisfied with only His leftovers or His crumbs.  Sometimes, I live in a way that only grabs at the crumbs, rather than taking a hold of His full meal.  And, amazingly, in spite of myself, God still gives me His best.  The woman in Matthew 15:21-28 understood the fact that Jesus's leftovers were more than enough for her.  And, yet, He gave her His very best.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table. 

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

God truly does gives us His best, if only we will look for it and take it.  I hope that I, in return, will give Him my best.  After all, I'm sure that leftovers are not His favorite dish either.

I have many more thoughts about this topic of leftovers and God, but I need to sleep.  If I don't get enough sleep tonight, I will be giving everyone all sorts of leftovers tomorrow.  So....goodnight!