I used to worry when I was doing something for church, running some event or talking with someone or a group of people, that what I had to offer wasn’t good enough. That I would disappoint. That I would let them, and far more significantly, God, down.
But one day it dawned on me. No matter what I did, I couldn’t make something perfect. And in this sphere, above all others, I couldn’t manufacture the kind of outcomes that I longed to see. I certainly could not make God move or act.
And so I realised that what I have to offer is simply five loaves and two fish.
The miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is found in each of the four gospels. But it is the account in the book of John (John 6: 1 – 15) that I love the most. For it is this account alone that mentions the boy who brings the bread and the fish to Jesus. I have often thought of him, and of the woman who I imagine made that lunch that day. Had he been sent to take them to Jesus? Had his mother, or grandmother, worked hard to make something that could be given to Jesus? Perhaps, they thought that Jesus would need some sustenance. And so I like to imagine her lovingly kneading the dough, carefully baking the bread, artfully gathering them together, and then sending off the boy – all to bless the master.
That offering did so much more than she ever dreamed. For with it, Jesus fed the thousands.
And so in my life, and in yours.
Perhaps in front of us, there are thousands who need to be fed. The magnitude of the task is an impossibility. But these loaves and fish are all that you, and that I have to offer.
My responsibility is to make them the best that they can possibly be. For me, that means I must work diligently, creatively and to the best of my ability. That I should invest time and effort into preparing well. But, in the end, that is all that they are. And that is all that I have. I am simply like the young boy standing before Jesus with my meagre contribution. Laughable as it is to call it such a thing.
But this is my offering to God.
If he so chooses he can breathe his spirit upon them. He can multiply this offering. When he does, I am profoundly astonished. But if he does not, they are still that which I have to give. And I give them to him freely and gratefully.
Lord Jesus, you know what we are and what we have to offer. Help us to serve you well. To honour you in what we do. But ultimately, we have little to give you. That which we have we give to you willingly and thankfully. May you take our offering and breathe upon it, that it may accomplish that which you purpose. Amen
What are your thoughts on the feeding of the 5000? How do you view what you have to offer? To God? And to others?
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