34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; 36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
The story has a few lessons for us. First, God sometimes takes our hard work and the resources we have garnered for ourselves and uses them for something greater than just our own needs. Second, and this is the flip side of the first, discipleship means making our resources available to God. Both cut across our innate, fallen human nature, the propensity for self-centeredness.
We mentioned before the similarities between the two miraculous feedings, the 5000 of chapter 14 and the 4000 here. But contrasts are the catalyst for insights, so we observe the following differences. In the first case, the event took place in the evening, in the second after three days of being with Jesus. Following the Lord sometimes requires sacrifice. Three days away from working the fields, fishing or running the family business meant no income. Once healed, people could have just left to return to their employment, which leads one to believe they wanted more than just healing. This, though, was a curious commitment, for most ended up abandoning Him, at least until after the resurrection. Probably a mix of reasons were involved in their staying for that long, not the least of which was the superficial excitement at the many great things Jesus was doing and teaching. Maybe some of this crowd were among the 3000 who later repented at Pentecost and were baptized!
In the first case (feeding of the 5000), the disciples brought the problem to Jesus; in the second, Jesus brought the problem to them. Sometimes, leaders see the problem but come up with poor solutions. Other times they just don’t see the problem and need to be prompted by the Lord. And though we may see God work at one time in our life, that doesn’t mean we always learn our lesson.
In the first, the starting point was five loaves and two fish; in the second, seven loaves and a “few” fish. Certainly, more food to start with would seem better, but we must work with what we have—the size matters little to the Lord. In the first Jesus “blessed” the food, asking the Father to set apart food to be used for special purposes. Following His example, Christians ask the blessing on their food as a tacit recognition that each meal is God’s way of enabling our bodies to carry on our God-given mission in life. And like Jesus, we give thanks recognizing that our meals ultimately are from God’s supply.
Lord, help me to never take my food for granted, but to see it as Your gracious provision for my physical health and strength to carry on.
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