1-8-2023

Good Morning All,

           Amos 5:15, “it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

    What do you do with the leftovers?  We almost always have some form of leftovers.  If you make supper; there is usually some leftover.  When you are making the meal, you might have some leftover ingredients.  If you are building a deck; you might have some lumber leftover.  What do you do with it?  Do you save it?  Do you throw it away?  Do you estimate whether it is worth saving?  Do you place a value on the leftover before you decide to keep or toss? 

    We all place a value on our leftovers.  If you made a gold necklace and had some gold leftover; would you keep it or throw it out?  If you serve Thanksgiving dinner and have 5 pounds of turkey and 4 pounds of ham leftover; do you keep it or throw?  What if it is a half-cup of that salad that your aunt brings that you cannot stand; do you keep or throw? 

    It is interesting how we view leftovers.  If it is meatloaf, we may debate eating it.  If it is chili or some stew which gains flavor as it sets in the fridge; is it a leftover if it tastes better the third time we eat it? 

    Leftovers are a curious lot.  Almost by definition they are second class, second best, a portion which may or may not be thrown away.  It is a portion which may or may not have value.

    There are many times in our lives when we feel like leftovers.  Have you ever gone somewhere with some friends and then run into some of their other friends that you don’t know?  Have you ever felt like the odd person out?  We all get in the car to go somewhere and one of us doesn’t fit.  The last person picked for the team.  The one who was 8^th for seven pieces of cake; the only one not to get into the game; sometimes we feel like leftovers.

     Sometimes the pain is unbearable.  The whole family gets together but you can’t make it.  When they talk of the fun, are you just the leftovers?  Maybe a loved one has decided that you are just a leftover in their life as they move on.  Maybe the job you have done for 25 years now finds you expendable or a leftover.  There are lots of ways for us to feel like leftovers and the devil loves to add to it.

    God loves leftovers!!  He saved the remnant; he saved you.  He saved you not because he views you as leftovers but he views you as his beloved children.  His love for us is beyond anything we can ever measure.  We are never just the leftovers; we are always his choice selections.  Wherever He finds us or wherever he places us, we are his beloved children.

 Dear Father, we give you thanks that you always hold us close as your favorite and not just the leftovers.  Give us the courage to reach out to those who the world treats as leftovers.  Lead us to show them your love.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret