Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Loaves and Fishes

"Toward evening the disciples approached him. 'We're out in the country and it's getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.' But Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat'" (Matthew 14:15,16).

Jesus’ disciples were flummoxed by this request. A little boy gave his lunch to Jesus and by it fed the crowd (Matthew 14:13-21).

One school of progressive thought contends that the little boy's generosity simply moved others in the crowd to share their lunches, but Matthew clearly intends us to understand that it was a miracle and an important miracle at that, in that the story appears in all four Gospels.

What can we learn?

Family members, neighbors, friends, colleagues and others stand around me in various stages of need. Should I send them away to someone more capable than I.

Certainly some people’s needs exceed our ability to help them, but not always. "They need not go away," Jesus would say. "You give them something to eat.” Whatever you have—a hug, a kind word, a listening ear, a brief prayer, some wisdom you've gathered over the years— give it away and see what I can do."

Little is much when God is in it. Give what you have to Him and see what He will do (Ephesians 3:20)

David Roper

1.22.18

1 comment:

Ed Pickard said...

How true, how true!

Little Is Much When God Is in It |
Kittie L. Suffield

In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the voice of God is calling,
To the harvest calling you.
Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.
In the mad rush of the broad way,
In the hurry and the strife,
Tell of Jesus’ love and mercy,
Give to them the Word of Life.

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer.

When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child—well done!”


Going and Not Knowing

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing...