“Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.” Mt. 14:19
There wasn’t enough food to feed the people, and Jesus knew it. But Jesus can do anything. He could turn a tiny bit of food into so much food everyone could be fed and there would still be food leftover. First, He looked up to heaven. To the Father. Father God. God almighty. It’s one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Not because I love food. Not because I am so exceedingly thankful the Lord has blessed me with food throughout my life. Not even because of the miracle involved in this story. But because of the blessing that THE LORD PROVIDES all we need – yes, ALL WE NEED – to give to others what He wants us to give to others.
For years now, I have not thought of food when I consider this story. I think of HIS WORD. THE BIBLE. And of the GOSPEL MESSAGE. The GOOD NEWS MESSAGE. Of JESUS HIMSELF. Though this story on the surface is indeed about food, I believe it’s also about Jesus giving His followers the SPIRITUAL FOOD – the Gospel message and the Bible – to GIVE TO OTHERS.
He commands His followers to share the Gospel and help people follow Him, but He doesn’t leave us on our own with this. He gives us all we need to fulfill His commission to us. Oh, what a blessing He provides for us to give unto others the most important food of all. HIS WORD. AMEN!
365 BLESSINGS is a devotional book I recently finished writing that will soon be available in print by the grace of God for the glory of God!