Little things can become big things, Jesus seemed to be saying.
“And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.” Luke 9:16–17 ESV
As if he hadn’t wowed the crowds enough, Jesus takes on the supernatural challenge of feeding thousands of people from basically nothing.
Not exactly nothing, of course. His disciples were able to round up a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread to get things rolling.
As an aside, I’m kind of curious about how thoroughly they searched. Did they actually make their way through the entire crowd, asking for lunches and donations? Were there any holdouts among the people who kept their lunch stashes to themselves? It’s fun to consider.
Back to the two fish and five loaves.
Clearly, the contributions weren’t even necessary. Jesus is producing hundreds, likely thousands of each by his divine power. He doesn’t need a starter kit.
So what we’re left with is imagery. Symbolism. The message that God will use whatever small gift we place on the altar.
I’m reminded of a song that I heard growing up, part of which includes these words:
God uses ordinary people
He chooses people just like me and you who are willing to do what He commands
God uses people that will gave him all
No matter how small your all may seem to you
Because little becomes much as you place it in the Master’s hand
Listen to one version of this song performed by a member of Bethany Baptist Church in Makati, Manila.
Little becomes much.
Have I got a few loaves and fish stashed away? Is there something that seems relatively small that God is calling me to surrender?
Or here’s a question.
If I knew that God would 1,000x every donation of time, energy, talent, and money that I made, how would that change my giving?
The Cascadian Christian 