AM - Psalm 89:1-18
PM - Psalm 89:19-52
Gospel - John 6:1-15
For reflection: When and how has God stretched your limited resources far beyond what you could have imagined?
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We have a huge event coming back to Charlotte this summer – WorkCamp. It is huge to me because 300 people will be coming to PR to serve for a week and one of the many big responsibilities is FEEDING them… and did I mention for FREE?
Jesus had a similar situation John chapter 6:1-15, but it wasn’t 300. It was more like 15,000 plus! Gulp.
So, Jesus, like He does to us daily, puts the apostles to the test to solve this problem and gets a few differing responses: send them away, we are going to need a lot of money, and...hmm, Jesus this little boy over here has a snack: some fish and some bread.
What does one do with this passage?
First, Jesus had just fed these people spiritually a day or so earlier at the Sermon on the Mount and now He was going to meet their needs and feed them physically.
Second, you have to love Andrew. He is always bringing people to Jesus! He doesn’t know if this is going to help, but Andrew is allowing this little boy to give all he has. So often, we believe the size of the task is too big. We must remember like the lady with the two mites, whenever there is a need, give all that we have to Jesus and let Him do the rest!
Third, instead of complaining about what we don’t have, we should give thanks to God for what we do have, and He will make it go further.
Lastly, I said earlier that Jesus fed them physically this time. Well yes He did. However, just a few verses ahead look how He uses it as an object lesson to state the greatest truth about His identity in John 6:30-35.
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Not only does Jesus provide for our physical needs, but our spiritual needs also!
Who says there is no FREE lunch? Hungry?
- Brad Childers
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