Floaties

This may sound really odd... but I decided to study the word "Residue" as it appears in scripture, and I found some very interesting things.

Moroni 7:31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.

Acts 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

And my favorite:

Moses 7:28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?
32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren, they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden gave I unto man his agency.
33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood.
39 And That which I have chosen hath pled before my face. Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment;
40 Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.


When I think of the word 'Residue' I think of floaties in the bottom of a drinking cup. You know the nasty stuff that you'd never consider drinking? Yeah. That. The 'residue of the people' in scripture usually refers to the wicked. The leftovers. The ones we as humans sometimes give up on as 'lost.' The floaties... the ones that 'aren't worth saving.'

And yet Enoch records that God wept over these. Here He's got the City of Enoch in his bosom. He's perfect. He's got creations numberless as the sands of the sea. He is just and true and kind and has so many children who are doing wonderful things and coming unto him. But God still weeps over the floaties. The residue. Because he knows that these of his children will have to suffer if they don't repent. And the thought that any of his children will have to suffer is painful to him. That's why he prepared a way for all of his children to repent and come unto him.

So then I started to think: How deeply appropriate is the symbolism that Christ 'drunk the dregs of the bitter cup.' The very vilest sins committed by the very vilest sinners... the dregs, (which I think are pretty much just cancerous floaties)... Christ drunk those. He really did descend lower than us all. No one is beyond the power of His saving grace. He really does have a plan to save anyone and everyone who will come unto Him and allow Him to heal them.

Can you believe it? No one is past his compassion or his love. He loves all of his children equally. Knowing that he loves me unconditionally like this makes me want to work harder so that he will not only love me, but so that he will trust me as well. Because I can think of no greater joy than that which would come from being trusted enough by Him to help Him in His work. To not only be His child, but His servant. What an honor that would be, because if I prove to be a faithful servant, then He will grant me the blessing of being an Heir to his power and glory.

Oh how great is the love of our God!