"Lunch"

They couldn’t run around the corner,

For a burger and some fries,

Out there tired and hungry,

You can almost hear their sighs.

And the crew just thought we’ll send ‘em home,

There’s nothing more to do,

But Jesus said you feed ‘em,

They didn’t have a clue,

‘Bout what was going to happen,

Or the part that they would play,

They only knew the hunger,

Of being there all day.

We don’t know how to do it,

They told Him clear and bold,

He then asked them a question,

What do you have and hold.

They said it’s almost nothing,

Just a lunch brought by a kid,

Five loaves and two fishes,

They were ready to get rid,

But He said bring it to me,

And then He gave God thanks,

And what happened after that,

Brought joy all through the ranks.

‘Cause as they passed out what He blessed,

It multiplied you see,

The more they gave the more there was,

Just grew miraculously.

And all ate till they had enough,

With twelve baskets leftover,

One for each disciple,

Whose faith was mediocre.

No name for the little boy,

Or the mom who sent the lunch,

So much that we do not know,

But I have a hunch,

That my favorite miracle,

We do well to remember,

When we don’t think there’s enough,

The Lord is a big sender,

To bless all that we give Him,

That’s really all He asks,

And then His power multiplies,

To do all of our tasks.

And there will be a surplus,

‘Cause abundance is His will,

What you have may not seem much,

But He will bless us still.

“Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. ‘Bring them here to Me,’ He said.” (Matthew 14:16-18, NIV)

This is a wonderful story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. There are many great aspects to the narrative, but one of the most important to me is that Jesus told the disciples to feed the people, a seemingly impossible task. How could they know that this miracle was a possibility, let alone that they could have done it?! It shows that we need to raise our level of expectation commensurate with God’s miracle-working power. Time and again Jesus asked them, “Where is your faith?” Where, indeed? And where is ours? The other point that I find so interesting is that Jesus used the little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fishes to feed the people. This tells us that God does not want what we don’t have. He only wants what we do have, even though that may seem like nothing. But almost nothing becomes something big in Jesus’ hands! Give Him what we have and see what God can do.

Lord, take what we have and multiply it for Your glory, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Herman Walker, used by permission. Thanks, Herman, and God bless you.