B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

I was in a meeting earlier this week and the host of the meeting referenced a verse of scripture in Luke 24 where  Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection and He asks them if they have anything to eat. Verse 42 says:  “They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish.”  The meeting host made the point that the  “piece of broiled fish” meant the disciples had actually offered the Risen Messiah their left overs or seconds. He went on to ask us in which part of our lives are we giving Jesus left overs.

That question has been haunting me since that meeting.  Can’t seem to shake it.  Am I giving Jesus my left overs?  What does that look like?

This past Sunday I’m pretty sure I witnessed the opposite from a friend of mine.  He stopped by RiverChurch on his way to his church and left a bicycle by for us to give to one of our homeless church members who’s needed a bike to get around town.  Let me just say, we have people who want to give us stuff to give away to “the needy” all the time. We’ve given away blankets, shoes, clothes, food, even cars. Some of it has been nice stuff and quite honestly some of it has been stuff that somebody just wanted to get rid of to minimize clutter in their own house.

But the bike my friend was giving away  was a very nice, very expensive bike that he bought a long time ago when he was in college.  His words still echo in my ears, “I could have gone and bought him a bike for $150 or so, but THIS BIKE is part of me.”  The bike was used, but it cost my friend something to give it away, more than $150 for a new bike.

Im afraid I’m guilty of giving my left overs.    Too many of my days get started in a mad dash and my conversation and time spent with God gets pushed right along through the day, till I fall in bed at night and utter a simple “Thanks God for this day and. . . . zzzz.’

Left overs.

Or maybe I fail to  take time to enjoy the blessing of my family that He’s given me in a given day.   I should be loving my wife and kids as Christ loved the Church, but they get a fraction of me, thereby He gets a fraction of me.

Left overs.

Some days, in fact most days, giving sacrificially doesn’t come easy.   I’m great to give away an old shirt I don’t wear any more, but what about that new pair of shoes on my feet?

I tend to give the left overs.

As I start a new day, my prayer is this:  God, when I’m tempted today to not give you the best OF me, help me remember you gave your best FOR me when you gave me your Son, Jesus.

I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. – King David (2 Samuel 24:24

Oh yeah here’s a little peak at us giving my friends bike away: