“Someone had to make the loaves to go with the fishes”
I don’t remember the specifics of the conversation, but that one sentence from my friend Tara jumped out and grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I thought about it the rest of the day. And the next day. And the next.
I thought about God taking everyday things and making them miraculous.
I thought about God taking simple things and making them extravagant.
I thought about boring mundane everyday tasks and putting them in God’s hands.
I thought about how I wanted to do big things, but found small things in my hand.
I thought about how I kept doing what needed to be done for my family.
Things like making bread.
My kids ALWAYS claim to be hungry, even if they ate 20 minutes ago. And most days it feels like all I do is make food and clean up messes. And while the Bible doesn’t say specifically who gave the little boy his loaves of bread to go with his fishes, I’m guessing it was his mom.
And I’m picturing her worn out (like me), constantly feeding her hungry little boy (like me), and maybe looking forward to a quiet morning while said hungry little boy is out chasing frogs or running after this man named Jesus that he seems to have taken a huge interest in.
I’m picturing her standing by a hot oven, wearily wiping her forehead, and I’m imagining her thoughts might be similar to what mine would be: “If I pack him a lunch to take on his adventures today, maybe I’ll be able to take fifteen minutes for myself after I get the baking done.”
What mom would ever think for a moment that a lunch she packs for her child might be used for anything miraculous?
But it was.
God created the fish in advance. And God was present to do amazing things and to feed people that day. But someone had to make the loaves to go with the fishes. Someone paved the way for someone else to meet Jesus.
And then I think about a little boy who always claims to be hungry, but has a heart as big as big. I picture my own little boy – Teddy. My Teddy who always claims to be hungry would give up his lunch with barely a thought if he heard someone say they were hungry and didn’t have lunch.
And somehow I can see Teddy’s big eyes and easy smile, and I hear his sweet little-boy voice say “You can have my lunch, Jesus!” And then I think about how Teddy’s face would light up and the happy little bounces he would give when he was telling me about his adventures that day. “And mom! A whole bunch of people ate my lunch! A whole bunch! Jesus used my lunch and everybody got to eat!”
Everybody got to eat.
See, that’s what happens when we take whatever God places in our hands – our skills, our education, our resources, our time – even the boring things – and offer them back to Him. When we make the loaves, everybody gets to eat.
Nobody lacks when all of us offer what we have.
In God’s economy, “wealth” always grows – exponentially – when we offer what we have back to Him.
If one lunch feeds thousands, then:
One sewing machine can clothe thousands.
One book can encourage thousands.
One blanket can warm thousands.
One room can shelter thousands.
When Tara and I had the conversation I mentioned earlier, I was in the early stages of starting a gourmet salsa company. Yes, while I had two teens with significant PTSD from their bio-mom abandoning them (among other things). Yes, while I had a baby who never, ever, ever, wanted to sleep. Yes, while I was struggling with PPD. And yes, I felt insane.
But in spite of the chaos, the salsa business fed something in me as a person. I was learning new things. I was doing something creative. And that felt good. I started thinking about how maybe God could use a jar of salsa to do something miraculous. And on hard days I would tell myself “someone had to make the salsa to go with the chips.” Because if I bring a jar of salsa, and someone else brings a bag of chips…
Everybody gets to eat.
And in the process of them eating and feeding their physical bodies, maybe, just maybe, someone else will bring their Bible and a few encouraging thoughts from Scripture. And then, because the Word of Life is present…
Everybody gets to eat – spiritual food in addition to the salsa and chips.
Make the loaves. You’ll be glad you did. And so will I.
Make the Loaves
For further reading, I highly recommend The Gospel Comes With a House Key