Giving What We Have To The Lord

John 6:4-15

Today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000, is one that is probably familiar to most Christians, one that many of us learned when we were children.  It is also the only miracle that Jesus performed which is recorded in all four Gospel accounts. Let’s take another look at this familiar story and see what we can learn.

Jesus had been on a hill with His disciples, teaching them, and He looked up and saw the huge crowds that had come together.  He knew the hours were passing, and that the people had not stopped to eat. Being one who is full of compassion, Jesus was concerned that the crowds would be hungry, so He asks the disciple, Philip, where they can get food to feed the crowd (vs. 5).  Jesus knew there was no human solution to His question to Philip. This would highlight the miraculous act He would soon do.

The Scriptures record that there was 5,000 men there (vs. 10).  This number does not reflect the many woman, and probably many children who would have been there, too.  Philip looked out over the crowds, and in response to Jesus’ question, he said that it would take over 200 denarii to buy food enough to give them all just a bit (vs. 7). One denarius was a day’s pay for a common laborer in Bible days. 200 denarii would be at least 8 months wages. The crowd was so large that even a significant amount would be needed to feed them all. Financial resources are not the most important ones. Our assuming what is or isn’t possible can limit God’s ability to work in and thru us. God will provide the resources.

In verses 8 and 9 we read that Andrew mentioned to Jesus that there was a boy, probably seated nearby them, who had a sack lunch of some bread and fish.  Perhaps the boy had overheard Jesus and the disciples talk about feeding the crowd, and how there wasn’t resources to feed them, and the boy spoke to Andrew, offering him his lunch to help out.  Andrew, not to shame the boy, tells Jesus, but his words lack faith. The boy gave what he had. It may have been little, but it made all the difference. If we don’t give what we have to God, He has nothing to work with.  God can take what little is given to Him and turn it into something great. God will multiply whatever we offer to Him beyond what we could imagine. He took the boy’s freely offered lunch of five small barley loaves of bread and two small fish, and multiplied it so that everyone ate till full, and twelve baskets of leftovers were collected (vs. 13).  If we make ourselves available to God, He will greatly use us for His kingdom.

Sometimes God will place a seemingly impossible task for us to do to see how we react.  Do we react in faith or in fear? He wants us to trust in Him, not in our own strength. The feeding of 5,000 men, not to mention all the women and children, was no problem for God. Since He can do that, shouldn’t we think that providing for our needs is any trouble for Him?

Are you facing a problem as big as what Philip and Andrew were seeing that afternoon, and all you have is equal to a small sack lunch?  We should not try to solve big problems by our limited human means. Jesus has a much better way. We need to remember to cast all our care on Jesus, for He cares for us as much as He did the crowds that day (I Peter 5:7).   God has a plan to bring us through every seemingly impossible situation. We need to to trust Him instead of ourselves.