Little Made Much in the Hands of Christ

Little Made Much in the Hands of Christ

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”   But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.   Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”   One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,  “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”  Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.   And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. …

John 6:1-13

It is wonderful to behold with what little God begins and with what greatness He finishes.  Out of nothing He speaks to bring a breathtaking and functioning world.  Out of clay He makes humanity – – the acme of His creation.  Out of a well-past-prime sire and non-productive dam He brings an Isaac.  So His wonders appear one after another.  It was so in the life of the disciples, and it is even yet the case for us.  Christ takes our limited resources and multiplies them unto the benefit of the many needy souls around us.

In the case of the passage before us we see in the disciples that they had limited resources.  Philip declares that even “200 penny worth” of bread would not be enough to feed the multitude.  Either that was likely all there was in the treasury or there might not even have been that much; Andrew followed this dismal assessment with the bleak information that the lad had but five loaves and two fish, adding, “but what are they among so many?”

We also are limited in our resources.  We are limited in our personalities, our talents, our zeal, our holiness, our numbers.  We have scant resources in a hundred ways.  Over against this there is the caring need of those around us.  On every side there are those which need much greater than a daily meal.  They are in spiritual darkness, in bondage to sin, in need of saving grace, and eternal life.  How ever will we meet the need with our limited resources?  The fact is, we of ourselves cannot do it.  The disciples had a wonder-working Savior.  He took the five loaves and two fish, blessed them, broke them and did a creative miracle of immense proportions.

Here is the answer to our situation as well.  Christ must take hold of our limited resources in order for them to be a multiplied blessing to many.  In His hands little becomes much.  Look to Christ today to take your smallness and to make it greatness for His glory.  “Little is much, if God is in it.”

Gracious Master 

take our littleness

today and multiply it

to the good of many.

Where the Bush is Burning

Tomm Tice