Lynn Jones: Don’t settle for leftover religion
By Lynn Jones
In restaurants across north Mississippi, every morning groups of retired men meet to drink coffee and swap stories. The same happens in Texas, and Bill Thorn is part of one of them. In fact, he published some of the wisdom shared by what he calls his “think tank.”
For instance, one man who is part of the group said the most remarkable thing about his wife’s cooking is that for thirty years she has served the family nothing but leftovers. He added, “The original meal has never been located.”
When it comes to food, leftovers are not all that bad. But when it comes to matters of faith, leftover religion is a serious matter. Leftover religion is sometimes passed down from parent to child. At some point in the past, parents have had a genuine experience with God. They have tried their best to share this with their children, but for the child, the whole matter of faith and commitment to God often lacks the freshness and quality of a life-changing experience with God.
The Old Testament is replete with accounts of children who subsisted on leftover religion. The sons of Eli had none of their father’s closeness to God. The sons of Samuel had never responded to God’s call in the middle of the night like Samuel had. Most of David’s sons were not men “after God’s own heart” the way their father had been. The faith of these children consisted of a few dried crumbs left over from the experiences of their fathers.
Leftover religion may be what you are trying to live on in your own life. At some earlier time in your life, you had some encounter with God, but that was a long time ago. Faith for you is now stale and dry.
What is needed in life is a fresh new encounter in some worship service or private prayer time when a bush burns and burns and is not consumed. When Moses experienced that, the Lord spoke to him out of the bush and sent him on one of the great missions in history, delivering the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. In your life, it may be in some small experience where you catch only a glimpse of the burning bush out of the corner of your eye, but in the encounter, there is fresh warmth and new life.
Mark Trotter is an outstanding Christian leader who was once asked how he knew he was saved. He said, “I know I have been saved because I was there when it happened.” That testimony about his experience with God has the marks of authenticity and first-hand experience..
Beware of leftovers—especially leftover religion in which the original experience cannot be located or remembered. Keep your experience with God fresh and up to date. This is one area of life where you should never settle for leftovers.
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
