But what are they for so many? – Attempts at Honesty
There are so many problems in our culture that it is easy to become overwhelmed just by listening to the news. Certainly, to get improved ratings the news curators pick stories based on their shock value, so things are likely not as bad as what the media outlets portray. But still, our own experience validates the fact that there is much brokenness in our world.
As I listened to a reading from Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John this morning, I tried to put myself in the shoes (sandals?) of the disciples as Jesus challenged them to provide food for the crowd which numbered 5,000 men plus women and children.
There were no food trucks queuing up to park around the meeting place. They could not call a food delivery service for 10,000 sandwich boxes. The disciples had no idea how to provide food for the crowd.
The only resources available were five loaves of bread and two fish.
Andrew, who discovered this resource then asked the crucial question, “. . . but what are they for so many?”
If I am honest, I have to ask the same question when faced with the issues of my daily life. I don’t have the resources to improve, let alone fix, the problems I see around me. I have limited time, limited talent, limited knowledge, and limited financial resources. I look at the resources I have and have to ask God, “What are they for so many?”
The lesson I should learn from John 6 is that I don’t need to feel pressured to fix everything. It is not my responsibility to fix much of anything. I’m called to be obedient to do the next thing.
If I am sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and if I am obedient to that leading, God will make it enough.
