There is nothing quite like it!
I’m talking about the look of wonder in the eyes of a child. I am thinking of a particular child. Just a young boy. We don’t even know his name. All we know is that he was among the multitude that followed Jesus to a remote area on the east side of the Sea of Galilee.
After a long day of ministry, the crowd began to grow hungry. Jesus shocked His disciples when He said, “Give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). The disciples were incredulous. How could they be expected to feed such a large group of people?
As they stood around contemplating the situation, a disciple named Andrew appeared with a young boy in tow. He told his friends, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9)
Nothing about the boy’s lunch was impressive. Barley was the food of the poor. The loaves were probably small, and the two fish were about the size of sardines. Remember, it was the lunch of a young boy, not a grown man.
But in Jesus’ eyes it was more than enough!
Actually, Jesus didn’t need the fives loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. The one who rained down bread from heaven for forty years to feed the millions of Israel in the wilderness could have easily fed the five thousand using nothing more than His creative power.
Even if He chose to use the boy’s lunch, He didn’t need all of it. He could have taken just one barley loaf and one small fish, or a small portion of each. Instead, He took it all. There are all kinds of biblical truths and spiritual lessons in this text just begging to be drawn out! We will address them at another time.
The thing I find fascinating is that Jesus chose to partner with a young boy with a small lunch to do something really big. Together they fed a multitude numbering in the thousands!
I can see Jesus as He took the bread and fish. The Bible says He prayed a blessing over them. I think Jesus then looked at the little boy with a gleam in His eye that said, “Watch this!” And as the boy watched in wonder, the miracle occurred. The five loaves and two fish began to multiply in the hands of Jesus, and the multitude was fed. There were even leftovers!
The story leads me to ask if God really needs our resources to accomplish His work on earth. The answer is no. And yet He chooses to use them, so we can be part of something really big like reaching the world for Jesus Christ.
For the rest of his life that young boy had a story to tell. To his dying day he told his friends and family about the day he partnered with Jesus to fed a hungry multitude. Let’s follow the boy’s example and do the same. The multitude is waiting.
Pastor Todd Weston
I’m talking about the look of wonder in the eyes of a child. I am thinking of a particular child. Just a young boy. We don’t even know his name. All we know is that he was among the multitude that followed Jesus to a remote area on the east side of the Sea of Galilee.
After a long day of ministry, the crowd began to grow hungry. Jesus shocked His disciples when He said, “Give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). The disciples were incredulous. How could they be expected to feed such a large group of people?
As they stood around contemplating the situation, a disciple named Andrew appeared with a young boy in tow. He told his friends, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9)
Nothing about the boy’s lunch was impressive. Barley was the food of the poor. The loaves were probably small, and the two fish were about the size of sardines. Remember, it was the lunch of a young boy, not a grown man.
But in Jesus’ eyes it was more than enough!
Actually, Jesus didn’t need the fives loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. The one who rained down bread from heaven for forty years to feed the millions of Israel in the wilderness could have easily fed the five thousand using nothing more than His creative power.
Even if He chose to use the boy’s lunch, He didn’t need all of it. He could have taken just one barley loaf and one small fish, or a small portion of each. Instead, He took it all. There are all kinds of biblical truths and spiritual lessons in this text just begging to be drawn out! We will address them at another time.
The thing I find fascinating is that Jesus chose to partner with a young boy with a small lunch to do something really big. Together they fed a multitude numbering in the thousands!
I can see Jesus as He took the bread and fish. The Bible says He prayed a blessing over them. I think Jesus then looked at the little boy with a gleam in His eye that said, “Watch this!” And as the boy watched in wonder, the miracle occurred. The five loaves and two fish began to multiply in the hands of Jesus, and the multitude was fed. There were even leftovers!
The story leads me to ask if God really needs our resources to accomplish His work on earth. The answer is no. And yet He chooses to use them, so we can be part of something really big like reaching the world for Jesus Christ.
For the rest of his life that young boy had a story to tell. To his dying day he told his friends and family about the day he partnered with Jesus to fed a hungry multitude. Let’s follow the boy’s example and do the same. The multitude is waiting.
Pastor Todd Weston
