Jesus looked out at the large crowd that had gathered. His disciples told Jesus that the crowd would soon be hungry, so he should send them home. Jesus responded with about the last thing the disciples expected to hear: “You give them something to eat.”
You know the story, don’t you? You’ve probably heard your fair share of sermons preached on this miraculous story of fishes and loaves.
Here’s the question from this story that I want you to consider this week:
What do you do when Jesus is standing there telling you to do something you know you can’t do?
There had to have been five thousand people in the crowd. Jesus is simply being unrealistic if he thinks his twelve disciples can find enough food for them all. Surely the disciples were feeling inadequate and somewhat frustrated at Jesus putting them in this situation.
So what did the disciples do? They did what they could. They went and found five loaves and two fishes from a young boy in the crowd. Then Jesus said, “Bring them here to me.” In other words, bring me what you have. I know it is not enough to feed this whole crowd, but that’s okay. Bring me what you were able to find.
One pastor imagined Jesus’ words like this: “Just bring me what you do have and I’ll work with that. Bring me your limited education, your lack of experience, along with your fear and insecurity, and watch what I can do.”
Jesus asks this of all of us. We are to bring to Jesus what we have to work with as an offering to God. As we, in faith, give ourselves to God, then we can marvel when God begins to transform what we have given.
Is there an area of your life that God is asking for this week?
Is there an activity, a relationship, or skill that God wants to use?
In the letter to the Romans Paul talks about offering ourselves as a living offering to God.
-Romans 12:1
Jesus took all that the disciples could come up with- five loaves and two fish- and fed 5,000 people.
How much more can God use what we offer?
See you on Sunday!
-Pastor David
