When we willingly give our lives, mistakes and all, to Jesus, nothing is wasted.
The miracle of the fish and loaves is the only one, besides the resurrection, that appears in all four Gospels. It’s a familiar story to most Christians. Jesus had been teaching the crowds for hours. It was getting late and everyone was getting hungry. Jesus was well aware of human needs and he was about to provide in a huge way.
While the disciples were hoping he would send the crowd on their way, Jesus had a different plan. That concept alone, is something we should always keep in mind when walking with Jesus.
There was a young boy in the crowd with two fish and five barley loaves. I have often wondered what his take on the story was. Did his mama pack him a meal to take with him? Did his parents know where he was? Did he willingly give his small meal to Jesus or was he reluctant? The Bible doesn’t tell us the child’s story and to the disciple’s eyes, his tiny offering made no difference anyway. But, they would soon learn, that Jesus can do a lot, even when we only have a little to give him.
There were five thousand men there; that didn’t even count women and children. I imagine Andrew scratching his head as he looked at Jesus and tells him, “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But, what good is that with this huge crowd?” John 6:9
Jesus doesn’t address Andrew’s lack of faith at that moment. He simply tells the disciples to have the crowds sit down. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke say that Jesus, “looked toward heaven and gave thanks.” John’s Gospel says, “Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish and they all ate as much as they wanted.” John 6:11
I wonder what our lives would look like if we followed Jesus’ example and always gave thanks to God whether we have what we think is enough or not. We give thanks for plenty, but do we give thanks when we don’t have what we believe is enough? What would God do with all of that thanks and praise? What would He do with that faith? In this instance, He provided way more than they could ever eat, way more than they could imagine.
The wording in John’s Gospel of what came next, really intrigues me. “After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” John 6:12
They did as they were told and there were twelve baskets with scraps. I would love to know what Jesus did with the scraps. Did he feed any nearby animals? Did the disciples eat them later? There were no soup kitchens at the time. What happened to the scraps?
But, perhaps there’s a deeper meaning here, a second story as is so often the case with Jesus. Maybe the point is that nothing in life is wasted when we give it to Jesus. In this case, it was physical food. For us, we have lots of baggage and many mistakes that we carry around over our lifetime. There are times when we wonder if our situations, our giant blunders can ever be redeemed. We are often tempted to believe that we have wasted our time or our lives on foolish decisions.
But, with Jesus, nothing is wasted. When we take our messes and give them to him, he can create something beautiful. He has the ability to use it all for good. He’s the great recycler. All we have to do, is find the courage to get on our knees, let the mistakes go and give them to him, giving thanks for grace.
Then we stand back and watch him create a masterpiece. I think that sounds like a pretty good plan. What do you think?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂