If Jesus is your Lord, than everything He says is important. You read His word, go to Bible class and listen to sermons with the intention of learning all of His commands, all of His instructions. You would think by now we have covered everything that Jesus said thoroughly, we have implemented every one of His commands, but we have missed at least one. I’ve never heard a sermon on it and if I heard it discussed in class I truly don’t remember. The command is in John chapter 6. After Jesus fed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish He instructed them,
When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”
– John 6:12
The NIV says, “Let nothing be wasted.” Have you ever heard anything said in a Bible class about that command? Have you ever read it yourself and given thought to the application of that scripture to your life?
When I look at American Society in the 21st century I can tell we have totally missed this command. We are so wasteful. The next time you are in a restaurant look at how much food is wasted. We order more food than we could or should eat, nibble on it a little and throw the rest in the dumpster. We buy products to stock our cupboards because we saw them on commercials. Most of it gets thrown away. We waste money on clothes, wear them once and stuff them in plastic bins under the bed. We own enough shoes to supply a village. We buy useless gadgets and toys. We waste money. We waste time too. We waste time watching video games, movies, ball games and social media. We waste time working harder to buy things we don’t need. We waste time that could be spent telling others about the saving grace of God.
Our Lord is trying to tell us something in John 6:12. Stop wasting food, money and time. Stop wasting your life. Jesus has a better way.
