3.041 Let's Talk About Being Left Behind

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth and the light of the world, reminding us that our lives are meant to preserve, illuminate, and point others to Him. This season on Savory Salt, we'll walk through the Old Testament, one verse and one thought each day. Perhaps these moments will add greater savor and brighter light to our lives as we seek to truly live as savory salt.

Hello my friends. It's a new day with new opportunities. Choose ye this day whom you will serve.

Have you ever been passed by, not selected, or perhaps left behind or outside of the group? Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, some of those things that happen are the Lord's hand? Today, perhaps Methuselah can help us see a little bit different perspective from those moments where it seems like we've been left behind.

We're reading this week Genesis 6-11 as well as Moses 8. And while we launched off on the conditions of the world yesterday, we're going to do just a quick rewind just for a moment. You see, if you remember correctly, Methuselah, who typically is only known in the Bible for being the oldest guy ever, or at least recorded, he's got quite a part to play in the plan of salvation.

You see, he's left behind. Let's take a look at the verse and then let's talk about it. Moses 8:2 says this: And it came to pass that Methuselah, the son of Enoch, was not taken, that the covenants of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he had made to Enoch.

For he truly covenanted with Enoch that Noah should be of the fruit of his loins. Now put yourself in this seat for just a second. Enoch and his people are walking with God.

They're experiencing the best the Lord has for them. And then the Lord's going to take the entire city up into his hands. The Bible says.

And yet Methuselah, the son of the prophet, the very, you know, he's following his father. He's, he's doing all the things. He's left behind while the city is translated into the presence of God.

Now the first side of that coin is, oh man, poor Methuselah! He got to stay on earth with all of the remnants, all the residue, as the scripture uses the term, of the evil and wickedness. But it's through Methuselah that Noah is eventually born through his lineage.

And then it's through Noah that the earth is again populated. Let's get started. Look at the other side of the coin.

Methuselah becomes this key component of the plan of salvation to repopulate the earth and ultimately continue giving the Lord's children an opportunity to come to earth and have a body. Now, Methuselah seemingly understands this plan in these few verses, right? He's not taken that the covenants of the Lord might be fulfilled.

He knows he's got to stay behind. My friends, in those instances and moments where we are seemingly left behind the crowd, whether in the church or outside of the church, perhaps the Lord has for us a plan the same that he has for Methuselah. I certainly have not experienced my entire family being translated to heaven and me being left behind.

That seems way more dramatic than the times I've been left behind in my life. But I have experienced the letdown of being left behind or left out or passed by. No, I didn't make the team, or I didn't get the part, or whatever it could be.

And it's in those moments that perhaps, if we pause and lean into the Lord and seek his counsel and understanding, he may provide for us a path forward, the same he did for Methuselah. Ultimately, Noah is going to come, and he's going to be able to survive all of the flood. He can open a door for us that we never saw in the first place.

And that is encouraging for all of us who at some point have been left behind. That's all for today, my friends. You and I have come here for such a time as this.

Step forward in faith and let's be savory salt. We will be here tomorrow and we hope you are too.