The Little Large Lunch

“’How many loaves do you have?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’”  Mark 6:38

Bartholomew could barely believe his eyes, and neither could Peter, James, John, and the rest of the bunch.  Just a bit before they had been scrounging for lunch, and now they stood holding twelve baskets of leftovers.

Jesus wanted to feed the crowd, but all the disciples could find was five loaves of barley bread and two dried out fish.  Not much for so many, but Jesus had taken what they brought, looked up to heaven, gave thanks for what He held, and broken the loaves.  And somehow—amazingly, astoundingly, astonishingly, and shockingly somehow, the bits of broken bread He “gave to His disciples to set before the people” kept multiplying and multiplying and becoming more and more and more until the many hungry thousands who were sitting “on the green grass in groups hundreds and fifties” had eaten and “were satisfied”(Mk 6:39-42).  And when dinner was done, the disciples who had been assigned clean up duty “picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish”(Mk 6:43).

Twelve men had been assigned the task of feeding the five thousand.  “You give them something to eat,” Jesus had commanded(Mk 6:37), and He had met their practical protests about finances and feasibility with a simple question, “How many loaves to you have?” and a straightforward instruction, “Go and see”(Mk 6:38).

Their search turned up a tiny inventory, “Five—and two fish”(Mk 6:38), but they brought what they could round up and turned it over to the One who lifted it up.  And then they got busy passing it out.  It took a while to serve supper to such a crowd, but with every bit of bread and every piece of fish that multiplied in their hands their awe and amazement increased.  And as they stood and stared at the bunch of leftovers in their baskets, all they could do was shake their heads and bow their hearts. 

What has God commanded you to do?  And why do you think you can’t?  It’s ok to list realistic reasons as long you’re willing to listen to His instructions.  “How many loaves do you have?  Go and see.”  And when you’re through collecting, bring your little to the One who will make it large if you are willing to take what He hands you and pass it out to those around you.

Don’t let what you don’t have keep you from doing what God wants you to do.

He will provide.  All will be satisfied.  And you just might find yourself picking up the leftovers.

Wanna Get Away?

“So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”  Mark 6:32

“Wanna get away??”

This phrase from the Southwest Airlines commercial always makes me laugh and answer, “Absolutely!” and although awkward or embarrassing situations trigger the question on the screen, my affirmative reply is because a fun trip elsewhere seems restful and relaxing.  Life in the here and now is busy and bustling and makes me crave times of quiet and closeness with those I love.  

We know God understands this desire because He planned a retreat with His boys Himself.  Jesus had sent the Twelve on a mission trip, and when they returned, they “gathered around Him and reported to Him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’”(Mk 6:30-31). 

A boys’ weekend was what He had in mind.  Down time where they could talk, laugh, listen, eat, nap, and just hang out in seclusion and privacy with no one around to disrupt or disturb.  “So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place”(Mk 6:32).

But plans didn’t quite pan out.  Word of their departure spread like wildfire, and when their boat hit the beach, a crowd was waiting. “Many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them “(Mk 6:33).

Sigh.  We all know that feeling—the feeling you get when you have no more emotional energy to invest in anyone else and then the phone rings or the doorbell dings or you round the aisle at the grocery store or look up at the restaurant at someone is standing there wanting your attention or needing your care.  What should we do? Breathe deep and be like Jesus as He stepped onto the beach. He didn’t get mad; He started to minister. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things”(Mk 6:34).  

It’s good to get away with spouses, kids, friends, and especially God.  We need those times of uninterrupted closeness to strengthen relationships and increase intimacy, but when life won’t let you have a few days or even a few minutes by yourself, remember that what we are tempted to consider irritating disruptions, God deems as divine appointments. He will provide the extra energy we need to open our heart, mouths, and arms and share His love.

Get away when you can, but when you can’t, don’t panic.  God puts others in our path for His purpose, and we often discover that serving can be as refreshing as sitting.

The Sovereign Sword

John the Baptist had his head chopped off.

That simple sentence should strike fear in the soul of every “Prosperity Gospel” preacher but stir faith in the hearts Christians facing crises.  Why?  Because the bloody sword serves to remind that God’s goal for us is not health and wealth but holiness and His glory.  

John the Baptist was a good and Godly man if there ever was one. He was Jesus’ cousin, miraculously born to aging parents, and filled with the Holy Spirit before birth. As the promised prophet who prepared the way for the Messiah, John preached truth to whomever stood before him—the poorest peasant, the proudest Pharisee, or the richest ruler.  It was the last that landed him in jail.

When Herod, the immoral and irritable non-Jewish ruler of Israel, divorced his first wife to marry his brother’s ex-wife, John said that such should not be so.  Herodias, Herod’s new woman, didn’t care for being called out, so Herod had John imprisoned.  Herodias wanted John dead, but Herod protected and feared him because John was a “righteous and holy man”(Mk 6:20). 

 Herodias “nursed a grudge against John”(Mk 6:19), and at Herod’s birthday party she got her shot at revenge.  The evening’s entertainment was a dance by her daughter, and the girl’s moves so delighted her stepdad that he promised anything she wanted as a prize—“up to half my kingdom”(Mk 6:23). At mom’s urging, the girl requested John’s head—on a platter.  Herod hadn’t imagined anything evil, but “because of his oaths and his dinner guests” he didn’t have the guts to refuse, so “he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head”(Mk 6:27).

At face value, the story is sad, sickening, and not very reassuring for if one so incredibly special and spiritual met no better fate than the edge of the sword, what hope do we not-so-holy have?? All hope, actually, and absolute assurance that our sovereign God always works His perfect plan according His perfect purpose.  Simply put, John’s work on earth was done, and it was time for him to go.  He had previously stated a profound truth that held more meaning than he knew—“Jesus must become greater; I must become less”(Jn 3:30).  John didn’t have jail cells and sharp swords in mind as his chosen way of “decreasing,” but somehow in God’s divine design they brought Him glory and fulfilled His purpose.  

Christians face many challenging circumstances and situations we wouldn’t choose on our own—emotional pain, physical suffering, and financial struggles that all bring anguish and agony.  Without doubt God could make things what we would call better with only a whim of His will, but often He does not.  Sometimes hearts break, accounts go bankrupt, and funerals are planned.  When this happens, it is not because God cannot do anything but because He is doing something bigger and, therefore, better in us, in others, or in both.

This is not the message you hear from smooth-talking preachers on TV (and sadly at many conferences and through many books) who tell you that more than anything God wants your bank balance to be hefty and your body to be healthy and that if you just have faith to claim such blessings and favor, they will come to be.  But this is the message you hear coming from the mouth of God Himself. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world"(Jn 16:33).

God never promises earthly prosperity, pain-free relationships, or even physical protection (ask the many who have been martyred for their faith just this year), but He promises His peace, His presence, and the power of His resurrection to work in us here and take us to there. The sword would never have touched John’s neck had a sovereign God not allowed the swing, so as lesser trials come our way, we can be certain that the same God is still in total control and is using our hurt to make us more like Him and to bring others to Him. 

 We will never understand all of God’s ways, and we aren’t meant to, but we can trust all of God’s heart. All of the time.