GIVING ALL YOU HAVE

READ: John 6:1-15

ANSWER THIS: What do you own that you wouldn’t give up for any amount of money?

THE BREAKDOWN

The crowds following Jesus have steadily grown, and on this day, there are about five thousand men who came to see and hear him. By some accounts, the crowd is possibly two or three times that, if you count the women and children, too. It was getting late, and people were growing hungry. So, Jesus turns to Philip, one of his disciples, and asks, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”

Surely Philip had one of those, “You gotta be kidding!” moments. It was a totally absurd thing to ask. It would take months to earn enough money to feed that many people. But, Jesus is testing him, to see how strong his faith is.

Then Andrew, Simon’s brother, speaks up and makes a seemingly useless observation: “There’s a boy here with five loaves of bread and two small fish.” Philip must have thought, “This is getting ridiculous. How is THAT going to help?” Even Andrew had his doubts, wondering what good that would do with so many people to feed.

Then Jesus takes charge. He has everyone sit down, receives the loaves and fish from the boy, gives thanks to God, and then He distributes the food to the crowd. As it gets passed around, little by little, people eat until they are completely full.

When the disciples pick up the leftovers, there’s enough to fill up twelve baskets!!

Everyone realizes they’ve just witnessed a miracle, and start spreading the word that Jesus is the prophet who will save them from the Roman occupation. They are so excited, they want to make him their king.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

The old proverb, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” suggests it's better to hold onto something you already have, than risk losing everything by trying to get more.

That pretty much describes the choice the boy in this story had. Would he keep what he already had, or give it all away in hopes of getting something better?

Had he kept the loaves and fish, his family may have had just enough to satisfy themselves. But, by giving it all away, he and his family, like the rest of the crowd, had more than they could eat.

More importantly, by giving it all away, the boy got to participate in a miracle!

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR ME?

It’s very tempting to keep the things we have to ourselves. But, when we do, we miss out on the miracle of seeing what Jesus can do with our time and talents. What are you missing out on today by holding onto what you have, rather than giving it all to Jesus?

PRAYER

“God, show me what I have that You’d like me to hand over to You. I’d like to see what You can do with it, and participate in Your bigger plan for my life.”