By Tesia Nagorka
“Jesus soon saw a great crowd of people climbing the hill, looking for Him. Turning to Philip, He asked, ‘Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?’ He was testing Philip, for He already knew what He was going to do. Philip replied, ‘It would take a small fortune* to feed them!’ [footnote: Greek 200 denarii. A denarius was the equivalent of a full day’s wage]. Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. ‘There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?’ ‘Tell everyone to sit down,’ Jesus answered. So all of them – the men alone numbered five thousand – sat down on the grassy slopes. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward, He did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full. ‘Now gather the leftovers,’ Jesus told His disciples, ‘so that nothing is wasted.’ There were only five barley loaves to start with, but twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of bread the people did not eat!” (John 6:1-13)
I find it fascinating that of all these people, the only person who had prepared anything for a meal was that young boy. Throughout the word, God uses bread as a symbolic reference to His word, His presence, His Son, and ultimately our sustenance. There was manna from heaven that Israel collected to make bread each day, there were the cakes of bread given as an offering at the ark of the covenant, Jesus refers to Himself as the bread of life, and Jesus answered temptation brought by physical hunger with the scripture “man shall not eat by bread alone, but by every word of God (Matthew 4:4).”
The same reference stands here. This boy’s meal represents God’s presence and revelation from His word. The amount of food he had was enough to feed himself for the day. And yet, it fed all of the multitude – with much leftover! If you are gathering nourishment from God (His presence and His word) enough for yourself each day, it will be more than what is needed to affect a whole multitude if you share it. It does not matter how young you are, or the position you have in the community. In fact, this young boy’s meal fed thousands of grown men!
You see, the world looks at circumstances and thinks a fortune is required to meet the needs of the people, but the truth is that even one small person gathering a day’s worth of God’s presence and manna (truth from heaven), is what’s needed. God makes sure to emphasize this when he asked Philip where they would buy bread for all the people. He started the conversation to point us to this truth, knowing Andrew would answer that it would take “a small fortune,” referencing 200 denarii (a collection of day’s wages). Jesus is pointing that true treasure and fortune lies in what we do each day. Earthly treasure is money earned for labor, but only goes so far in what it can provide. Heavenly treasure is revelation received when we prepare our hearts in God’s presence and word, and one day’s worth of this treasure can do what earthly treasure could never do. Even more, in fact, as when we share what we’ve received that day people will ‘eat until they’re full, with plenty leftover!’ God takes care that none is wasted!
Today, as we look around in the midst of covid-19 and the state of our economy, we see multitudes of people hungry and searching. The world would say it could only take a fortune to meet the needs of all these people. How can what I have help? I tell you, it can. And it will, if you share it. Have you prepared your own heart in the presence of God today? You don’t have to search God’s word for the masses, no. Have you gathered wisdom enough for yourself? That is more than enough. If you bring your own humble meal to be shared, people will be filled with plenty leftover! I assure you, God takes care that none will be wasted. Start with preparing your own heart before the Lord, and see what He does.
And remember this, mothers – prepare your children. That young boy had a mother who made bread for him to have on his journey. Prepare your children – teach them to gather from God’s word and to seek His presence everyday. This is how you feed your children and prepare them for their journey in life. It begins with you. Prepare them, and see what God will do with the work of your hands and through your children!