When We Give What We Have - Saturday December 27, 2014
Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." Matthew 14:16
Sometimes people have a lot of needs. I know this to be true because I'm one of them. I greatly appreciated Josh McDowell who said, "For salvation all I need is Jesus. For everything after that, I need more." I need encouraging words, people who are for me, to be wanted for who God made me to be. I need all sorts of things that could probably be summed up in this one phrase: I need compassion. Well, praise Jesus who has compassion for the people.
In Matthew 14:13-21 Jesus feeds the five thousand. He is grieving a sad loss, John the Baptist has just been killed. The people find Him and He responds with compassion. He heals their sick. Then His disciples come to Him and tell Him to send the people away so that they can go buy themselves food. Jesus replies, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." The disciples only had five loaves and two fish, but giving them to Jesus they allowed Him the opportunity to make it enough.
Sometimes I think we send others away to go provide for themselves. We can hide under the words, "I'll pray for you." We believe their need is too great for us-then our fish rots from not being eaten and we are left smelly! If we would only believe that God could use our small hug, our words of encouragement, our smile, our gift of a 90-minute lunch, our meal dropped off, a walk that's quiet but not walked alone, our presence while a person cries. When we withhold our small acts of love I believe we are withholding Christ's compassion. In John 13 Jesus says, I'm going away. While I'm gone, please love each other the way I love.
Submitted by:
Kelley Downie
Cedarcreek Community Church
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
One-Year Reading Plan:
Zechariah 10:1-11:17
Revelation 18:1-24
Psalms 146:1-10
Proverbs 30:33
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