Leftovers
There is some food that I like piping hot straight from the oven. Every now and then I catch the line at Chipotle just right where they pour fresh chicken into the pan right as it is time to make my burrito. Now I like their burritos no matter how long that chicken has been in the pan, but it is especially good when it’s fresh. I feel the same way about pizza. I’ve burned the roof of my mouth more than once with hot cheese because I couldn’t wait for the tasty triangle to cool off before I take my first bite. Another food that’s best hot out of the oven is apple pie or oven-baked bread. The other day Susan made some fresh cinnamon raisin bread in our bread-maker. I heard the beep go off, signifying that it was going into the cooling cycle. I found some pot holders and slowly extracted the prize out of the hot baking oven. Before Susan could finish telling me to leave her bread alone, I slipped it out of its hot prison, buttered my slice and began feasting.
Other foods I prefer the next day.
I have two words for you: “Thanksgiving leftovers.” I love to make turkey sandwiches out of day old dinner rolls. But the sandwich is just a formality, what I really like is next day pumpkin pie. I like the texture and the taste of pumpkin pie better when it is leftover than when it is fresh. My favorite leftover is fried chicken. For the most part, my romance with cold fried chicken ended when I lost 90 pounds a few years ago, but I do still have my memories. In my humble opinion, there aren’t many foods that can beat the taste of cold chicken on a hot summer day.
Leftovers are fine, but they have their place. When we have guests in our home, we always serve them first and then we eat what is left over. It is our way to honor our company. We would never dream of giving them what is left over after we finish taking what we want.
Yet that is exactly what many people do with their paycheck. After they finish gorging themselves on the abundance God has provided, they offer what is leftover back to Him.
Exodus 23:19 (HCSB) “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God.”
Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).
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