Five Loaves and Two Fish – Who Will I Serve?

[This is] the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh defeated Gaza. This is what the LORD says:
Look, waters are rising from the north and becoming an overflowing wadi.
They will overflow the land and everything in it, the cities and their inhabitants.
The people will cry out, and every inhabitant of the land will wail.

At the sound of the stomping hooves of his stallions, the rumbling of his chariots, and the clatter of their wheels, fathers will not turn back for their sons, because they will be utterly helpless.                         Jeremiah 47:1-3 (HCSB)

This passage of Scripture could be read to people who have lost their homes and land to floods right now. This was what God said to the Philistines who had some “God justice” coming their way. And it did happen.

But what about the people in Missouri and Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee, and now, Louisiana? I read an article on msnbc.com that said, “Poor taking the brunt of Mississippi bulge”, meaning it is primarily the very rural poor that are being flooded out of their homes and left with nothing. Where is God’s “justice” in that?

…he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.                Matthew 14:19 (CEV)

The message that I am hearing today is that in all these terrible ‘disasters’ there is an opportunity for us (disciples of Jesus) to reach out with His love and help those in need. If I think about a farmer who makes his living on land that is now several feet under water and grasp that this family not only has no home but no way to produce their income, however I may think of my own lack, I have more than that.

The boy came to hear Jesus speak. He brought a lunch with him which was more than many others did. Would it feed all those people? It did not require higher math to figure that answer! Jesus’ disciples did not see how so little could cover much. Jesus did.

Just a side note here: Did you notice that Jesus looked to heaven before offering the answer to the food problem? If you read about Jesus’ day, He had received the news of John’s death and He was being followed by a huge crowd of people who wanted. Maybe Jesus felt the human fatigue and looked to heaven to say, “You have to do this, Father.”

Jesus shows me that if I am willing to offer my little, He will make it huge. Be willing to do that in the midst of my own “busy” life. Just think what would happen if we all gave when and what God asked? Think of the shock of the people who would find hands and feet to walk with them through these disasters. They would not feel alone and overwhelmed.

I do not have much but I have more than I need. May I turn my eyes toward the Father and ask Him to bless my bit of “more” and watch what will happen as He takes it to feed the needs of others.