He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? Mark 6:37
Preparing for a conference where several hundred Christians will gather (I’m referring to pre-Covid days here) is a huge task. One of the biggest components of that task is arranging for and preparing all of the food that is needed. Lists of supplies required, lists of preparation times and methods, lists of people to be involved at the various stages, from planning to serving, must be prepared. Skill is needed in many of the various elements of providing those meals, and hundreds of decisions must be made along the way. And then, when mealtimes come, it is a great satisfaction when we see all the folks enjoying their meals and satisfied with the provision. Now, imagine if the number of people who showed up approached ten thousand, and nobody had made any provision to feed them. What would you do? Maybe the disciples’ suggestion in our text wasn’t so far fetched, given the situation.
A huge crowd with not enough money to buy bread for hardly any of them was a frightening prospect. Jesus had told the disciples to feed the people. With such a tiny fund on which to draw, and with no likelihood of enough bread to be available if they did have enough money, the disciples made a pathetic suggestion. They knew they had no adequate response to His command. The Lord Jesus desires for us to feed the world with the Gospel. And He also knows that you and I have no means in ourselves to meet the tremendous need. The need is so great, and our abilities are so limited, that we view the prospects as futile. But the disciples missed the point: the Lord Jesus had told them to feed the people, so He would make sure that the task could be completed. Instead of looking to their own pathetic resources, the disciples should have looked to His great power.
Jesus knew all about the lad with his basket of bread and fish. He appreciated the boy’s willingness to share. He simply used that willingness to provide the launching pad for His blessing. He had no need to dip into the disciples’ little bit of money. All the disciples had to do was pass on to the people the abundance that flowed from their Lord’s hands. That’s all you and I can do today. If we have received from Him, we should use it for His glory.
What has the Lord Jesus commanded you to do today? Receive from Himself the resources to fulfil that command. -Jim MacIntosh