Do the little things you do matter?
Are your kids learning the lessons you are trying to teach?
I was in a group study of the gospels and when we got to the story of the loaves and fish, a woman said, “I want to know what that boy's mom was thinking when she packed his lunch!” It's a familiar story, but go ahead and read it in Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:34-44, Luke 9:12-17 or John 6:1-14. This is how I imagine it may have happened.
“Mom, again? Why do you insist on packing too much food in my lunch? You know I'll only eat one fish and no more than two loaves of bread!”
“And you know that I always give you two fish and five loaves because one day someone else will need it.”
We had a version of this conversation every day. She'd pack too much and I'd complain. She didn't know the spot she was putting me in; it was so embarrassing! I'd tried asking people if they needed some of my lunch, and the answers I'd received! “Do I look poor to you!” “Do you think you are better than me?” And my personal favorite, “Look at you bragging about how wealthy you are!” I wasn't bragging and we certainly weren't wealthy, so I tried arguing with Mom again.
“Mom, I know you haven't eaten today and I can see that there's barely enough food for our family to get by. I don't understand why you insist I take more than I need.” But she just smiled and said, “Joe, one day, someone will need it and you will be blessed to be able to share.”
So every day I would haul a large lunch. I tried bringing it back home, but the fish was no good by the time I got there and the bread was soggy. I tried leaving it on a bench, but an old man just threw it away muttering about kids these days not having enough manners to throw out their own trash. Some days I would eat it myself. A few times I gave it to the ducks. But always my ears would ring with, “someday someone will need it.” No one ever did.
I saw a group of people heading toward the shore. Jesus and His disciples were coming and many wanted to hear what He had to say. I followed along with the others and found myself in the midst of the largest crowd I'd ever seen. There must have been at least five thousand men! We were listening to Jesus when His disciples started combing through the crowds. A man named Andrew was asking those in my area if anyone had any food. I lifted up my sack. “I have a couple of fish and some bread”, I said. Before I could pull out my share, he took the whole thing. “Hey!”, I yelled, “that's all I have!” My voice was lost in the crowd, so I tried to follow him to the front where he gave it to Jesus.
The disciples asked us all to sit down as Jesus lifted up my lunch and praised God for it. I'd complained about having to lug about that big bag of food, but that sack never looked older or smaller than when it was raised up for all to see. Even though I was close to the front of the crowd, there would never be enough for me to get a crumb by the time it was passed my way. What was Jesus thinking?
I don't know how to describe what happened next, except to say it was a miracle from the hand of God!
Jesus' disciples had multiple sacks they were passing around. When it was my turn to take some, the sack was still full. And there are no words for how amazingly delicious that fish and that bread were! I'd never tasted anything like it and never will again! Everyone ate as much as they wanted. Thousands of people fed from my small meal! Not only that, but Jesus instructed his twelve men to pick up all the fragments left on the grass and they each had a full basket. They pressed the pieces down and shook them together, but still the baskets were overflowing!
As the crowd was dispersing, Jesus called me up to Him. I don't know how He knew my name, but He said, “Josiah, I want you to take one of these baskets home to your mother. I've seen her faithfulness and I know her needs. Her generous acts and kind heart have not gone unnoticed”.
I was so excited to get back home! Mom laughed when the basket spilled onto her lap as I hurriedly gave it to her. I relayed every detail and she just smiled. “I told you that one day you would find Someone who needed it,” she said, as if she'd known along that this was how the extra food would be used. From that day on, Mom no longer skipped meals and we never again worried if there would be enough for our family. Mom made me a new and larger sack to carry and I always seemed to find someone to share my lunch with.
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Comments