BE A PART OF THE MIRACLE!

Text: Luke 9:10-17

Jesus is teaching us here,  that our ability to help others does not depend on the size of our pockets  but rather in our willingness to cooperate with him to reach the needy. God can do anything without involving man for he is God all by himself, but He would rather that we are part of what he is doing. He loves to be in communion with us. He created us  with a portion of his divine essence, hence, as a good father He shows us how the dynamics of his kingdom works so that we can live with His own mindset and not that of the world. He grants us opportunities to be a part of the miracles he performs daily. However,  we must look away from our inadequacies. He wants us to give him our insufficiency and witness his all sufficiency. For whatever we give into his hands, He  gladly multiplies.

The apostles are back from the preaching work. Great testimonies followed them. They are excited yet famished and drained. They needed rest. Jesus saw this and was ready to give them the required retreat. However, the needy world around him wouldn't give them the chance. It is often said that the reward for hardwork is more work. Jesus' compassion led him to forgo his own and the apostles' urgent need and pay attention to the crowd. First, He preaches the good news of the kingdom to the spiritually hungry. Next, He shows what obtains in this kingdom; "a little given into God's hands is much". He calls forth things that are not into existence. This miracle is reminiscent of his feeding Israel of old with Manna and the Zarephat widow's Jar of oil that never ran dry. He is the unifying force of the Law and the Prophets; the Messiah himself.

So what? Living in God's kingdom means looking to God for provision rather than human efforts. Its true that " he who does not work must not eat" yet, our labour is not absolute. It is rather to be seen as a participation in the grace of God's provision. God brings miraculous results out of ordinary work. The little boy provided the five loaves and two fishes according to John 6:9. The apostles helped to settle the crowd in calm groups of fifty (giving about a hundred groups in all). Their candid effort was blessed beyond their imagination. Everybody ate to their fill and twelve baskets of fragments were gathered. God never runs out of options. Jesus' body would later be seen as this bread that is capable of feeding a whole multitude and sanctifying them. For now however, he shows them that he has power over nature.  Therefore, give Jesus today one out of the two treasures you have and watch him use it to bless lives in ripples. Do not wait until you have it all. God's kingdom works with a different dynamic.  He delights in using inadequate and insufficient people to make his power more evident.