Today, it’s getting real. I dropped off our youngest son, Eli, at Western Alamance High School for freshman orientation. No more elementary school. No more middle school. I can delete those phone numbers from my phone. What’s more, Caleb is a senior this year! My nest is going to get roomier than I want real fast. Wes and Kendal need to be thinking of giving me some grand-babies…not that I’m trying to rush things….:)
Rising Freshman Rising Senior
As I said, I dropped Eli off today for a half-day orientation and returned home to a quiet house. So I did one of my favorite things and got into God’s word. Wow the things He will show you when you seek The Lord! I’ve been reading in the gospel of Mark and a few days ago read chapter 6, the very familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.
If you’ve ready the story, you’ll remember that Jesus had been teaching this multitude of people until late in the day and His disciples told Him to send them on their way so they could get some food before the hour was too late. Jesus simply said, “You give them something to eat.” (Mark 6:37 NKJV) Of course, the disciples wondered at His words and asked, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” (one denarii today is worth about $20.00 US dollars). Jesus said, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”
So, Jesus took what they had an blessed the five loaves and 2 fish and gave them to the disciples to feed the multitude. And everyone ate. The Bible says until they all “ate and were filled”. Not only were they satisfied, but the disciples also took up about 12 baskets of leftovers.
WHAT A MIRACLE, RIGHT? Yes!! But as I read this passage again today, it struck me; out of 5,000+ people, there was someone who brought the bread and the fish. If they hadn’t, Jesus certainly could have used another means to feed them if He wanted to, but He chose to use someone’s offering as part of His miracle.
Wow. Just WOW! Do you see that??
Immediately, my heart was convicted. I had to ask myself, “Do I always have bread and fish with me? Am I always ready to be used by the Lord?” Am I prepared for Jesus to say, “Hey daughter, I need your bread and your fish because I’m getting ready to use it to do something AMAZING.”
Or instead, do I hoard the gifts I’ve been given, unwilling to share them or let them be used? Perhaps I even leave the house totally unprepared with nothing the Lord could use, even if the opportunity arose. Too often for the Christian, that’s the case. Just like in our story, there were 5,000 plus seeking what they could RECEIVE from Jesus, but only ONE PERSON came with anything to offer to Him.
Isn’t it just like Jesus to take one person’s offering and use it to feed 5,000? The size of the offering never one time crossed Jesus’ mind.
So, how about it? Do you have fish and bread to offer to the Lord? Are you prepared to be used by Him to impact lives for the Kingdom of God? Never think your gifts are too meager, too small, or too insignificant for Jesus to use; He fed 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Oh, and to really grasp the magnitude of the miracle, scholars estimate that by feeding 5,000 men He actually fed more like 15,000+ people including women and children..with leftovers. 🙂
5 loaves + 2 fish = one of the greatest miracles of all time
therigginslife 