Catering for large numbers, Jesus style!
My friend Toby and I are different in a great many ways. One particular difference we have is in the way that we prepare for a long walk.
A few years before I got married (or indeed met my wife-to-be) there was an exceptionally heavy snow fall one Sunday morning. As a result no-one was able to get to church. I immediately threw on my big coat, hat, scarf and gloves, put an apple in my pocket and headed off to explore. I walked from the top of Ty Sign down through Risca along to Abercarn and up over Twm Barlwm before returning home exhausted, tired, hungry, wet, cold and lucky to still be alive (the footpath was more treacherous than the innocent looking snow led you to believe). The walk took me the best part of the day.
Toby on the other hand is a much more prepared chap. In our student days Toby decided to walk us over to Twm Barlwm from Newport. It was late summer and so he made sure that we all had hats to offer some protection from the sun and strong shoes for the journey. He had also packed a thermos flask of tea a Tupperware box of freshly made flapjacks, a few sandwiches, a map of all footpaths and a compass! All very prepared; he meant business. Of course he forgot about the thermos when he threw his rucksack over a river we were attempting to cross. It made a tinkling sound as it bounced off far bank. As a result we lost out on our cup of warm tea when we reached the top of Twm Barlwm, but the thought was there.
What do our actions and preparations reveal about our expectations and desires?
"There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish.” John 6:9
On Sunday I was reminded of one character in John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, the young boy. The hill side was packed with people who appeared not to have prepared for their adventure with Christ or did not know when they left the house that they would be chasing after Jesus. There must have been some wealthy people among the crowd, well known personalities etc, but not one of them was mentioned. Instead Jesus’ attention was focused on one young boy who he set out from home that morning having decided he was going to stick with Jesus for as long as he could, and that meant preparing to do so; he’d made himself a lunch that [push comes to shove] could last him a few days.
What does this tell us about the boy? What example does he give us?
Does this demonstrate a lack of faith on his part in that he didn’t believe that God could meet his needs? Not at all, it demonstrated a passionate commitment.
Christian’s should not have a lazy attitude and call it ‘faith’. The Apostle Paul, for example, worked hard in the marked place to ensure that he could support himself at times and not burden young churches. This is not to say that he didn’t trust in God’s provision, it tells us he knew he had a part to play. God has equipped us out of His reservoir of blessing so that we can provide for ourselves and others [at times].
If the boy, with his passionate and determined attitude to follow Jesus, had not let this impact his actions in packing himself a lunch, instead heading off ‘in faith’, would Jesus have performed the miracle?
What miracles [and amazingly divine provisions] are sometimes hindered in our lives because we want God to do it all rather than playing our part?
A few years before I got married (or indeed met my wife-to-be) there was an exceptionally heavy snow fall one Sunday morning. As a result no-one was able to get to church. I immediately threw on my big coat, hat, scarf and gloves, put an apple in my pocket and headed off to explore. I walked from the top of Ty Sign down through Risca along to Abercarn and up over Twm Barlwm before returning home exhausted, tired, hungry, wet, cold and lucky to still be alive (the footpath was more treacherous than the innocent looking snow led you to believe). The walk took me the best part of the day.Toby on the other hand is a much more prepared chap. In our student days Toby decided to walk us over to Twm Barlwm from Newport. It was late summer and so he made sure that we all had hats to offer some protection from the sun and strong shoes for the journey. He had also packed a thermos flask of tea a Tupperware box of freshly made flapjacks, a few sandwiches, a map of all footpaths and a compass! All very prepared; he meant business. Of course he forgot about the thermos when he threw his rucksack over a river we were attempting to cross. It made a tinkling sound as it bounced off far bank. As a result we lost out on our cup of warm tea when we reached the top of Twm Barlwm, but the thought was there.
What do our actions and preparations reveal about our expectations and desires?
"There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish.” John 6:9
On Sunday I was reminded of one character in John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, the young boy. The hill side was packed with people who appeared not to have prepared for their adventure with Christ or did not know when they left the house that they would be chasing after Jesus. There must have been some wealthy people among the crowd, well known personalities etc, but not one of them was mentioned. Instead Jesus’ attention was focused on one young boy who he set out from home that morning having decided he was going to stick with Jesus for as long as he could, and that meant preparing to do so; he’d made himself a lunch that [push comes to shove] could last him a few days.What does this tell us about the boy? What example does he give us?
Does this demonstrate a lack of faith on his part in that he didn’t believe that God could meet his needs? Not at all, it demonstrated a passionate commitment.
Christian’s should not have a lazy attitude and call it ‘faith’. The Apostle Paul, for example, worked hard in the marked place to ensure that he could support himself at times and not burden young churches. This is not to say that he didn’t trust in God’s provision, it tells us he knew he had a part to play. God has equipped us out of His reservoir of blessing so that we can provide for ourselves and others [at times].
If the boy, with his passionate and determined attitude to follow Jesus, had not let this impact his actions in packing himself a lunch, instead heading off ‘in faith’, would Jesus have performed the miracle?
What miracles [and amazingly divine provisions] are sometimes hindered in our lives because we want God to do it all rather than playing our part?
posted by Andrew at 9:39 pm
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