Day 19: The Lad With the Loaves and Fishes
Jesus had been traveling for quite some time now, performing miracles and signs in the towns He came through. Though the signs and miracles were designed to lead people to salvation and grace, most of the crowd followed for other reasons. They wanted to see more miracles.
On this particular day, the crowds had been pressing in, and when Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they followed Him there to a desolate mountainside as well. The crowd was immense, five thousand men, not counting their families with them. It was evening, and it would soon be dark. And no one was making any attempt to go back home.
“The people are hungry,” the disciples exclaimed. “You aren’t going to feed them, are You? Just send them away!” Knowing there were no bakeries around, no “fast food” restaurants, and no homes where food might be fixed, Jesus tested his disciples by saying, “You feed them!”
Looking around for an answer to their dilemma, Andrew saw a lad who had a canvas bag with something in it. The two made eye contact, and then Andrew looked down at the bag. The lad’s father, wanting to protect his own evening meal, commanded his son to sit down and be quiet about what was in the bag. But the lad was compelled to give what he had – two fish and five loaves – to the man looking at him.
How ridiculous it seemed to the disciples. What could Jesus do with so little? One look from Jesus told them to bring it anyway. Knowing exactly what His Father would do, Jesus blessed and broke the bread and began to distribute it. When all had eaten, twelve baskets of pieces remained. “Did they get it?” Jesus wondered. “I am the Bread of Life.”
Surely the young boy who gave the Lord everything he had, who saw it multiplied to feed thousands, came away with a new and changed heart and a testimony to share with all who would listen.
Does Jesus find us willing to give Him our all? Our money? Our time? Our relationships? Our strengths and weaknesses? Our sins? Are we surrendered to the higher authority, like the young boy was?
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