Using Up Our Leftovers
It is bitterly cold outside here in Paducah, as it is in many places in our country today. It makes you want to just stay in the house where it is warm and cozy.
Now, for those of us who eat out often, since there are just two of us, this can present a problem. It means that I have to cook a meal. Honestly, I don’t mind cooking, so it isn’t that big of a deal. However, this time I decided to do something different. I decided to organize our freezer and use up our leftovers from past meals. I was amazed at the variety of items we had, and frankly, I had forgotten about some of them.
It was while I was looking at these forgotten items that I had a thought along a different line. I began to think about people who have visited us at our congregation, participated in classes and activities, and then for some reason they stop coming. Maybe the world was pulling them into their old life more than we were trying to bring them to Christ. They are like that frozen food in the freezer – they are forgotten.
Maybe it is some of our own members who used to come faithfully to every service and every activity at the congregation, and you haven’t seen them for a while. The longer they stay in that freezer, the more likely they are to be forgotten.
Let’s take a look at 3 verses from the Bible:
- Ezekiel 34:16 – “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.”
- Luke 19:10 – “The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Matthew 18:12 – “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, he will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill and go to look for the lost sheep.’”
I’m speaking for myself when I say that I know there are some people I need to check on. There are some people I need to help. There are some people who will for sure be lost if we don’t seek them out and guide them in the right direction.
We’re having barbequed beef that I found in our freezer for our meal today. I had forgotten it was there, but, as it is warming up from its frozen condition, our house is smelling very good. It is coming back to its original appearance and flavor. It is once again usable for a main dish. I gave it a little time and effort and it is back to its goodness.
Could it be possible that, with some loving time and effort spent on someone who once was learning the truth, or someone who once was faithful to the church, they might enter the fold or be brought back to the church for which Jesus died?
AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
