Daily Devotion Friday January 7

Can you picture this occurring?  A kid on his way to (wherever) stops at this gathering.  He has a lunch in hand and it’s plenty for him and maybe even a friend, but he has no idea what is about to happen.

As his stomach begins to growl, he watches a group of people congregating near Jesus and His disciples.  As the crowd gathers, he is approached by someone in Jesus’ group asking if he’s willing to share his lunch.  He is willing, of course, but proceeds to remind them that it is a miniscule amount compared to what is needed. The friends of Jesus sheepishly nod and say that they’re aware, but Jesus has a plan.  They’ve learned to trust Him when He says so and they ask the boy to as well.  So he does and he is in awe of what comes next:  

The disciples take the basket with 2 fish and 5 barley loaves and pass it out to everyone in the crowd.  Someone counted the growing crowd and the boy later found out there were around 5,000 people in attendance that day!  It seems impossible, but it happened!  Jesus’ followers…His friends….passed out the lunch and had some to spare.  

The boy cannot make sense of it, but how could you with the limits we humans put on our expectations of ourselves and the world? Even the limits we put on God are laughable when you think about it. 

We never hear about this boy again, but the spirit of generosity and willingness has been taught for centuries. His impact on the world has been huge and it has inspired multitudes to give what just doesn’t seem to be enough knowing that God will supply the rest and will fill in the gaps.  

As Todd R. Vick writes in The Renewing of Your Mind: Asking Modern Questions to Ancient Answers: 
 "The boy had only mere morsels of food. He shared it all. It changed the world. Supernaturally. However, once he shared his lunch, we don’t hear about him anymore. His name wasn’t included in the gospel narrative, but his gift was. When we share sincerely and generously, our ego no longer matters." 

May we remember this as we go about our daily lives.  Our contributions to the world may seem insignificant, but in God’s hands, they are worth more than gold. 
Meghan DeGregory 

*Quoted with permission. To read more of Todd R. Vick’s work, go to https://toddrvick.net  ​