Give Jesus Something to Bless

Resist the temptation to limit yourself to the logical and to doubt the illogical.

Philip’s Reasoning

Before we criticize Philip, think of the many times we would have tried to reason our way into an answer for some searching question from the Lord.

Jesus’s disciples were challenged to see the possibility of feeding the crowd. Try to imagine what it would be like to stand in a place where the Lord Jesus presents a challenging possibility. Philip gave the typical response that many of us who are concerned about the lack of our personal resources or church funds to meet the needs around us give. The truth is that when the numbers don’t add up, if we are not quick to switch to “supernatural possibility mode,” we very likely respond like Philip.

We have all responded like Philip at one time or another. The need was food for hungry people. How many people? The Biblical account only mentions a number for the men, “about five thousand” (v. 10). How much bread was needed and at what cost? Two hundred denarii was probably what they had in the coffers Judas kept. And even the amount of bread that that money would buy would not have been enough. Philip has done the calculations perfectly but wasn’t Jesus aware of that fact? Of course He was, and He already knew what He was going to do.

Hunger + 5,000-plus Persons + 200 Denarii + No Bread = IMPOSSIBILITY

The challenge is to have the faith to see beyond the natural and logical. If the Church will be effective in the earth, it must have the faith to see that Jesus uses a heavenly mathematics that we have no way of understanding. How its calculations are done is beyond us. Jesus was about to activate a miracle, and Philip and his colleagues were being stretched into seeing and understanding the workings of the kingdom of heaven in a very tangible way. Philip’s reasoning gives us a better appreciation of what kind of miracle is needed to see this large crowd fed and satisfied.

Oh that we would have the faith to see what Jesus is seeing and not be robbed by the limits of our natural eyes. Remember, faith allows us to see beyond what we have tested and proven to be the norm according to the laws of nature.

Without food, the best option is to send the people away. But then Andrew presents some hope.

Andrew’s Response–The Miracle before the Miracle

Andrew announces that there is a boy who is prepared to offer his lunch to Jesus. This is a miracle we must not miss. How many boys do you know give up their lunches, especially when there is no possibility of getting a replacement? No explanation is given in the passage, but this boy must have either seen Jesus perform the miraculous before or he had heard accounts of the things Jesus is able to do. While the account did not say that an announcement was made for someone with lunch to step forward, this boy might have been close enough to hear the discourse between Jesus and His disciples.

Have you ever wondered if anyone else in that large crowd, child or adult, had also brought their lunch? If there were others in the crowd who had lunch with them, we cannot allow ourselves to follow their example. We must be like this boy and step forward. Self-preservation cannot be allowed to keep us from giving Jesus something to bless. It will take selflessness and faith in Jesus for us to activate our involvement in what He is going to do.

What about the voices of friends who may try to discourage you from giving your lunch to Jesus? The influence of friends can become an issue as we consider giving Jesus something to bless. They may encourage us to not give at all, or they may inject the similar element of doubt with which Andrew was struggling: “What can your lunch do for so many?” If we have listened to our friends and not given in the past, we will need to be delivered from the doubt that has hindered us from offering Jesus our lunches. We doubt because it is unnatural and illogical to even think such a small thing can benefit so many.

But what does “lunch” mean for you? What is the thing you should be giving to Jesus for Him to bless that will benefit others? Your “lunch” may be that one hour you can give to the children at the homework centre at the church. It may be that small amount of money you can give to help someone have a comfortable place to live. It may be that skill that you have been hiding from others because you feel inadequate. It may be some small thing that you have concluded will not make any difference in anyone’s life. It is these very small, insignificant things that Jesus wants us to offer Him so He can bless them so many will benefit.