Sharing Your Little

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”  John 6:9

There is a very famous passage of Scripture in which Jesus feeds more than 5000 people.  To be sure, much has been written and preached about this event, and rightly so.  There are lessons about Jesus' love, compassion and deity.  There are lessons about his apostles' lack of understanding and faith.  There are even lessons about a crowd who largely missed the significance and point of the whole exercise.  Little is said, however, about a young boy and his lunch.

Consider the fact that though virtually nothing is known about him, it can be surmised that he was relatively poor due to the contents of his meal but that he was prepared because he had it.  Though we do not know what his day or life consisted of, he showed up with food among thousands who either had none at all or an amount insufficient for their needs.

Consider also that he was wiling to share.  We know nothing about how the actual exchange took place, but it can be said with a high degree of confidence that Jesus would not take a child's lunch from him by force.  We can therefore surmise that the young man was willing to not just share, but to give all he had.

Finally, it was with this boy's lunch that Jesus indeed and in fact, fed the multitude.  Further, not only where the people filled but there was an abundance that was leftover. 

Beloved, as believers, we have confidence that the Lord can do all things.  We believe that miracles are available and do happen through the power of God.  We also believe that God is fully capable of performing these things with zero assistance from us.  That said, Jesus chose to work in partnership with the youngster.  He took what the boy was willing to share and miraculously multiplied it for the benefit of many.  It is important that we not miss this very important lesson because too often, we feel as if our little is not enough.  We often feel impotent in the face of so many needs and so much pain in the world.  At times we feel this so strongly that we fail to offer the resources, knowledge, skills and abilities we do have, shrug our shoulders and walk away.  Suppose a little boy with his lunch box refused to open it.

Let us be mindful that Jesus never asked us to save the universe.  What he asks of us is that we love others as he has loved us, that we treat others the way we would like to be treated, that with humility, we esteem others more than ourselves and that we lead lives that produce fruit.  Our circle of acquaintances and those with whom we come into contact is limited, but the power of Christ is not.  Let us bring our little and let Jesus do great things with it.

Increasing in faith,

Lee