Weekend, May 18, 2024
What We Have
Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” (John 6:8-9 NLT)
Andrew was a spiritually perceptive guy. Initially he was a disciple of John the Baptist. And when Jesus came on the scene, John said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NLT). Then Andrew began to follow Jesus.
When we read about Andrew in the New Testament, he was always bringing people to Jesus. And in chapter 6 of John, we read that he brought to Jesus a little boy who had some loaves and fish.
Interestingly, Jesus hadn’t asked Andrew for help. Jesus had said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” (John 6:5 NLT). Apparently, Andrew had been listening, because he said, “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” (verse 9 NLT).
We don’t know the little boy’s name. But what we do know is that he was poor because he had barley loaves, which was the cheapest of all bread. He also had two small fish. It was sort of like having stale bread and sardines. Here was a little boy who didn’t have a lot to bring to the table, but he gave what he had to Jesus.
In the same way, God wants us to bring what we have to the table. This boy gave his lunch, as insignificant as it was, to the Lord. But that which was insufficient and insignificant became sufficient and significant when it was placed in the hands of Jesus.
Jesus, being God, could have rained bread from Heaven. But He chose to feed the multitude through natural means. The supernatural worked through the natural. So, Jesus instructed the disciples to put the people into groups of fifty and one hundred.
Then the Bible tells us that “Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share” (Mark 6:41 NLT). Jesus multiplied the food so that everyone had plenty to eat.
It is not what you bring. It is whom you bring it to. And God can do a lot with a little.
We think God only wants to use talented people. And He will use talented people if they are humble enough to dedicate their gifts to God. But sometimes those who have the least are willing to give more because they recognize that if anything good comes, then it must come from God.
We simply need to bring our gifts to God—our stale bread and sardines, so to speak—and say, “Lord, here it is. Do what You can with it.”
Bring what you have. God can take it, bless it, and use it to touch many. What makes a gift great in God’s service is not the magnitude of the gift. It is into whose hands the gift is given.
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