Leftovers

So by now everyone has eaten their Thanksgiving meal, visited with family, watched some football and now has leftovers. So what do you do with your leftovers? 

What does the word leftover mean?  Mirriam Webster has the definition as: something that remains unused or unconsumed.  Is this how you feel about your life? Do you feel like a leftover?

Well God can use you as he uses all leftovers. Do you know the story where Jesus fed the 5,000 men and their families with only with five small barley loaves and two small fish?  When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” John 6:12

God uses everything and everyone, even those that are left over. The story of Ruth in the Bible is one that immediately comes to mind. Ruth was a widow with no sons to take care of her and in those days you were discarded as a left over.

After Ruth became widowed, she stayed with and took care of her mother-in-law, Naomi, instead of going back to her family.  Ruth was a model of loving-kindness; she acted in ways that promoted the well-being of others.  She eventually meets and marries Boaz and has a son named Obed. You see, Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. In the lineage of David is where Jesus comes from. Because of her loving-kindness, God used her and rewarded her.  Read more about her life in the book of Ruth.

Another term for leftover is remnant. Noah was a remnant, when God flooded the earth and killed all but Noah and his family. Other remanats were Lot and his two daughters, who survived the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Of course, the most blessed remnant is that of the true Church, the body of Christ, chosen out of the millions who have lived and died over the centuries. Jesus made it clear that this remnant would be small when compared to the number of people on the earth throughout history. Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

So do you still think that you are a leftover or a remnant cast aside?  Those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior can, with great peace, rest in the fact that they belong to THE “remnant.”

God never writes off anyone as a leftover or remnant. God is standing ready to help. All you need to do is ask Him and believe that Jesus Christ was born, crucified, and rose again all to forgive your sins. Once you do that, God will use you in ways that will astound you.

I can say this, because I too thought I was a remnant and did not know what God could do with me? I still have many tattered and loose ends, but God is using me. He is weaving my tattered and loose ends into a life that will live with Him forever.

I encourage you to turn over your leftovers to Him and see what happens next. Because all I can say is, HANG ON!