Mark 6:34-44
So the usual vast crowd was there as
he stepped from the boat; and he had pity on them because they were like sheep
without a shepherd, and he taught them many things they needed to know. Late in
the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “Tell the people to go away
to the nearby villages and farms and buy themselves some food, for there is
nothing to eat here in this desolate spot, and it is getting late.” But Jesus
said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “It would take a fortune
to buy food for all this crowd!” “How much food do we have?” he asked. “Go and
find out.” They came back to report that there were five loaves of bread and
two fish.Then Jesus told the crowd to sit down, and soon colorful groups of
fifty or a hundred each were sitting on the green grass. He took the five
loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, gave thanks for the food.
Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each
disciple to place before the people. And the crowd ate until they could hold no
more! There were about 5,000 men there for that meal, and afterwards twelve
basketfuls of scraps were picked up off the grass!
Food for thought !
This is a very special miracle. So special that it is the
only miracle of Jesus which is related in all four gospels. It is special also
in that it shows the TWO ingredients of every miracle. There’s God, and there’s
man; there’s praying to God, and there’s playing our part. The two ALWAYS go
together.
When the disciples were asked to give the people something to eat, they insisted that that was practically impossible. For them it would take a fortune to buy food for all the crowd! They really meant "Anything we have got is no use at all," which was correct. What was not correct was the disciples' ignorance of God's power.
This is how many of us deal with difficulties; we think of everything and everybody except God. We look at problems through our eyes and our efforts and our wages and our resources, etc., just like the disciples did: "It would take a fortune to buy food for all this crowd!" With such false start we cannot end with correct solutions; we are like the disciples; they kept coming up with negative excuses: "there is nothing to eat here in this desolate spot, and it is getting late.”
After seeing their inadequate solutions, Jesus taught them and us a lifetime lesson. For a miracle to happen, two things must concurrently exist: praying to God, and playing our part. Prayer alone is not enough; playing our part is not enough. We must pray to God, yes, but also, we must play our part. This is what Jesus did: Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them (he prayed to God).
But Jesus demanded too that the disciples play their part: "How much food do we have?" he asked. "Go and find out." They came back and reported, "They came back to report that there were five loaves of bread and two fish." Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and gave to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.
All this means that whenever we have those humanly speaking impossible situations, whenever we seek a miracle from God, we must do two things: pray to God, and play our part. As you play your part pray, and as you pray, play your part.
When the disciples were asked to give the people something to eat, they insisted that that was practically impossible. For them it would take a fortune to buy food for all the crowd! They really meant "Anything we have got is no use at all," which was correct. What was not correct was the disciples' ignorance of God's power.
This is how many of us deal with difficulties; we think of everything and everybody except God. We look at problems through our eyes and our efforts and our wages and our resources, etc., just like the disciples did: "It would take a fortune to buy food for all this crowd!" With such false start we cannot end with correct solutions; we are like the disciples; they kept coming up with negative excuses: "there is nothing to eat here in this desolate spot, and it is getting late.”
After seeing their inadequate solutions, Jesus taught them and us a lifetime lesson. For a miracle to happen, two things must concurrently exist: praying to God, and playing our part. Prayer alone is not enough; playing our part is not enough. We must pray to God, yes, but also, we must play our part. This is what Jesus did: Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them (he prayed to God).
But Jesus demanded too that the disciples play their part: "How much food do we have?" he asked. "Go and find out." They came back and reported, "They came back to report that there were five loaves of bread and two fish." Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and gave to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.
All this means that whenever we have those humanly speaking impossible situations, whenever we seek a miracle from God, we must do two things: pray to God, and play our part. As you play your part pray, and as you pray, play your part.
No comments:
Post a Comment