13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."
16Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
17"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
18"Bring them here to me," he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
When I read this passage I felt Jesus' compassion for the sick and the hungry. His ministry was not only preaching the word. Jesus truly met the needs of the people whether it was healing the sick or feeding the hungry. I think this is a good example of how we should minister to the world around us. We should not only minister with the word but we should also have compassion and help meet people's physical needs as well.
This passage was also very encouraging to me in reminding me that when we put our faith in God, He ALWAYS provides for us and meets our needs.
In this passage, when Jesus said to feed the people, the disciples questioned Jesus about how to feed the mass crowd of people with the five loaves of bread and two fish they had. I would have questioned this too.
I am thinking back on missed opportunities to help others in their time of need or to share the word with others because I don't think I am knowledgeable enough, or I don't have enough money to help, or I don't have enough energy to do a particular task. I am always only looking at what I can see and relying solely on myself.
I am reminded of the verse Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." I pray that we will all be encouraged by this passage and trust in God to provide all that we need as we act as His hands and feet.
Happy Weekend Everyone!! :)
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2 comments:
thank you Chris for a thoughtful reflection!
thanks christine for a wonderful reflection. i agree with your comment about our tendency not to serve in the ministry because we don't feel that what we have is adequate. all Jesus wants is our willingness to give whatever we have. we need to learn to give wholeheartedly everything to the Rightful Owner when He calls us to.
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