Daily Devotional

If you go the the Purpose Drive Life's website you can sign up and have a daily devotional sent to your e-mail. They are little stories or prayers to help you saty focused on God and your purpose. I wanted to share with you the one I got today as I really enjoyed it. This was not something we did as a family. My father rarely allowed us to have friends over and less to stay for dinner. Rick's parents on the other hand had an open door policy, his parents would have fed the entire neighborhood. As Alex grows older I hope my house is the "hang out" house and kids feel safe and welcomed here. Anyway... Here is Today's Daily Devotional:

No Leftovers by: John Fischer

Recently an Iranian woman was asked what was the most difficult part in her adjustment to living in the United States. She didn't say anything about the different environment for women as might have been expected. Instead, she said the most difficult adjustment was the fact that she found it hard to cook for only her family of four. She was used to feeding, at any time of the day, meals for various extended family members and friends. Serving in that way is a natural part of her culture.

Her solution to this problem is simple. Besides providing an elderly woman across the street with dinner delivered each night to her door, she goes out and invites people to join her family - sitting at the table and eating what would have been leftovers. Now there's an easy solution to leftovers - invite the neighborhood.

Hearing this story reminded me of a parable Jesus told of a man who prepared a great feast and invited many guests, but when those guests made excuses about other things they had to do, he sent his servant into the streets and alleys of the town to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. "After the servant had done this, he reported, 'There is still room for more.' So his master said, 'Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full'" (Luke 14:22-23). There won't be any leftovers at this feast!

Our purpose as Christians is to serve. It is all about being aware of and meeting the needs of those around us. This is not a natural thing for me or for the culture I was raised in.

It's quite an indictment on western society that this woman's most difficult adjustment was to the selfishness of our culture compared to her mid-eastern culture of hospitality. Americans don't share very well. We have been raised in a culture that worships individuality and ownership. The goal is to have all our own stuff so we don't need to depend on anyone else. We work very hard to have our own house, our own car, our own swimming pool, our own entertainment system, and our own dinner with our own family. Sharing is not an American trait, and if we don't share well, we won't serve well either.

I've noticed in myself a resistance to sharing the family dinner with outsiders. When my older children were around more, they often sprang their friends on us at the last minute. I always resented this at first, but then it would often turn into an evening enlivened with conversation, music and laughter. I would go to bed a little later and a little more tired but always richer for it. Not to appeal to a selfish motive, but it is true that we always better ourselves when we serve others.

So it's time to pull my sluggish self out of this protective cocoon and find out where God wants to use me. Maybe it's to go out and invite in the neighborhood. If we work at making sure there are no leftovers, God will make sure we have more to give.

John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.