We sometimes think that we have very little to offer, or that we don’t amount to much. But just listen to this story….
A little boy was pushing his way through the crowd, wanting to see a miracle. He had heard about this preacher who did miracles, and he badly wanted to see one. But there were so many people crowding around the teacher listening to what He was saying, and the sick people were pushing forwards so that they could be touched by Him. The hours passed by.
It had been a long hot day and the people were starting to get hungry and tired. The little boy wondered what was going to happen next. He was getting hungry himself, but he had been so busy listening to and watching everything that was happening he had almost forgotten the five small buns and two little fish he had in his bag.
Then he heard the Master say to His friends, “How do you think we should feed all these people?”
They didn’t seem to have a clue. “Perhaps we should send them away to get something to eat”, one of them suggested.
Our little boy nudged Andrew, one of the friends, and said, “Look, the Master can have these little buns and fish to feed the people” as he gave them to him. Andrew was almost ashamed to show Jesus what he had. “Well, we’ve got these five buns and two small fish, but how will they feed such a crowd?” he asked as he gave them to Him.
Jesus didn’t hesitate as He took them. He gave thanks to God for them as though it was some great banquet He had in front of Him, and then started to break the buns and fish apart. They just kept going. More and more! He handed the pieces out to His friends and told them to distribute them to the people who were now sitting down on the grass. It was an incredible sight, a giant picnic. Not only was there enough food for everyone, but there were twelve baskets of left-overs too!!
Our little boy had wanted to see a miracle, and now he had not only seen one of the greatest miracles of all time, but he was part of it too! He hadn’t done the miracle, but the Master had, with what he had given Him. If he hadn’t parted with his five buns and two little fish, he would not have seen it nor been part of it!
It’s the same for us today. If we don’t hand over to God the little that we have, we won’t see any miracles done, let alone be part of them. How much of the small talent that we have, do we give to Him for His glory? God uses the little things to accomplish what He intends to do all along.
Goliath was a large giant of a man, yet he was killed by a teenage boy with a slingshot. Gideon took a walled city at God’s command with just three hundred men armed with…lamps and trumpets!
When God sent His Son into the world, he didn’t use a mature older woman to care for this precious baby. He chose an unknown teenager who loved Him (God) with all her heart and who was prepared to give up her reputation, and maybe even her future husband who she was engaged to.
It’s not our talent that counts in serving God, it’s what God does with what we give back to Him. He takes the little that we have and makes something big of that. We must learn to quit holding on to our lunch thinking it is too small to be of any value!!
PS….You can read these accounts in the Bible to get the full story……Matthew 14:14-21; Mark 6:34-44; Luke 9:11-17; John 6:1-14