And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. John 6:11
One of the most poignant set of pictures I encountered on the Web had to do with the quantity of groceries a typical family would have for a week. The first picture was of an affluent family in Germany, with a table loaded with a great variety of foods and beverages. The second photo showing a well-to-do American family was just as impressive. The set of pictures followed a line of descending affluence, through a Korean family, a Mexican farm family, and a few others, where the tables were spread with fewer and less lavish things. Second-to-last was a picture of a poor family with a simple arrangement of vegetables and breads. Finally, a picture showed a mother and her three children in an African refugee camp. Before them were a few small pitiful items, and, unlike the other pictures, there were no smiles on the children’s faces. I wondered how much more they would have eaten, if they could have all they wanted. How much more spiritual food would we consume, if we knew all that is available to us?
It seems sometimes that we are like those refugees, subsisting on a few things that somebody hands out; here a prayer, there a word of ministry, maybe a selection from the Choice Gleanings calendar, or a glance through the daily meditation on an Assembly website. Or even the daily message on the AssemblyLine. But Jesus wants to feed us with as much as we want from His Word, His company, His presence, and His people. So why do we take so little?
Those folks on the mountainside who benefited from the meal of bread and fish were instructed to do something very important before they were fed. They were told to sit in small companies. We are told there was much grass there, so they would have been comfortable. Then the food came, and they partook with no distractions. That’s how the Lord Jesus wants to feed us with His word. He wants us to get rid of the distractions. It’s really not a good idea to try to study the Scripture when you are navigating through rush-hour traffic, for example. Them, he wants us to feast on His bounty. Let our souls take in everything that the Word has for us. Of course, if we have been snacking on the devil’s dainties, our appetite for the Word won’t be what it should. And the benefit we get from the spiritual food will be very limited.
Just as the bread and fish were enough to supply whatever the multitude wanted to eat, so the Word of God is enough to satisfy our spiritual hunger. Now, if only we could develop a greater hunger for it! -Jim MacIntosh