Apr
21
2008
YOU Give Them Something!
“You give them something to eat!”
- Jesus to the disciples (Mark 6:37)
As the sun began to go down after a long day, the disciples realized that the thousands who had come to hear Christ teach were without food. To rid themselves of the problem they were facing, they recommended that Jesus send the crowd away to find food elsewhere. For the disciples, the people were a burden that they had to release themselves from. Jesus’ curt answer follows: “You give them something to eat!”
Many Christians view hurting and hungry people as a burden instead of a gracious responsibility. Christ has called us to love others in spite of the circumstances and to be willing to shoulder the load of reaching out to those hungry for God. Our duty as the body of Christ is to glorify Him by bringing His hope and gospel to a dying world, which means that we often must deal with the hard cases.
Putting this task on to someone else would be easier and thus make for a much more pleasant Christian experience – free of the pain of others’ heartache. That is precisely why Jesus tells us to provide the food. We are His hands in a hurting world.
Jesus was asking the disciples to do something that was practically impossible – to feed up to 20000 people (including women and children). Sometimes we feel that God is asking the impossible of us too – and He is. He wants us to try to move the mountain, so that we’ll realize that we must trust Him for the results.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Christ asks us to help in His healing process for the spiritually malnourished, and this task requires His power. He calls us to do what we can with the little faith and resources he gives us, all the while understanding that He will be there to provide the miracle.