They gathered up what they had and brought it to Jesus.
Here Mark tells about Jesus feeding 5,000 with only fives loaves of bread and two fishes. After dinner they even have leftovers!
How does this work? Mark doesn’t say, because it defies explanation! It's a miracle!
Mark only writes that Jesus received what His students brought to Him and blessed it.
Earlier, Jesus simply told His students to take an inventory. He asks them what they have to offer for dinner. They find only five loaves and two fishes!
Jesus does all the rest!
Isn’t this how we should understand our relationship with the Teacher?
How does Jesus work in our lives? We can’t fully explain this either. The Teacher is working in our hearts in ways we can’t comprehend.
We only know we enjoy the benefits of His power in our lives. We are becoming more like this Teacher as we learn from Him. We are filled!
Our story defies explanation too. Because an honest appraisal of our character and ability tell us we don’t possess what it takes to become very much like the Teacher.
Kind of like bringing five loaves and two fishes to feed 5,000!
But when we offer ourselves to Jesus – become His students - He blesses our little and the results are miraculous. We are changed to be much more like Him than we ever dreamed possible.
Like Mark, we can only tell our story – we know what’s happening - but we can’t fully account for it. It defies explanation!
Greta thoughts! To be able to do this - offer ourselves and let teh Teacher work through us, there are a few key elements needed.
ReplyDeleteFirst - stop relying on ourselves taking care of situations. Notice at first the disciples have a plan - "It's late, it's remote, let's send the people away!"
Not that having plans are bad, but they bring the plan to Jesus rather than asking Jesus for the plan. When we think we have it all figured out without consulting the Teacher, we're probably not headed in the best direction.
Secondly, what does Jesus do? He prays. He blesses the bread: "Looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves." How often when we make plans do we ask God to bless them?
Also. in the middle there, is a willingness to stretch our way of thinking. "You give them something to eat." What? Your kidding, right! what is recorded is a question about money - what it would take financially to feed that many people, let alone the logistics of purchasing and bringing it back to the people. However, with Jesus we should expect the unexpected - expect things to happen we never could have figured out.
Now to Him who is able to do immeasureably more than all we ask or imagine according to the power that is at work within us. (Eph 3:20-21)
Oh, as well, the things that will hapeen when we give up our own ideas, and ask God to bless us with the faith that God can do anything and we can do all things through Christ - those things aren't happenstance.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10)
Think about this: God has planned things for you that you couldn't even imagine! Trust in Him!