Heaven's wonder bread

When my children were home, they both savored being able to eat the crusty heel off the freshly-baked loaf of bread. Hmm, good, with homemade raspberry jam. I remembered that the other day when I baked bread for dinner. I also thought of what Jesus, who called Himself the Bread of Life, did by the Sea of Galilee long ago when surrounded by thousands of famished people. Some had walked two hours from home to hear Him and to seek healing.

Actually, the New Testament records two separate occasions when He fed multitudes. But His feeding of 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. For several reasons, it’s become my favorite miracle. These are the teachings it fed into my life:

*If God wants you to do something for Him, He will put it right in front of you. Jesus didn’t have to look far to see 5,000 men plus women and children needing Him. My circles of relationships include many with baffling and frustrating needs, some of which He wants me to tend on His behalf.

*If you feel inadequate, you’re probably qualified. The disciples wanted to send the crowd away because they didn’t feel they could handle it. Similarly, the expectations of schooling, job, relationships and ministry always look bigger than we think we can handle. When God allowed overwhelming challenges into my life, I didn’t feel that I was the best candidate for His work. I wanted to echo Moses and Jeremiah, “Who me? I’m just a nobody.” But God wanted me to learn that He would help me do what I considered impossible.

*If the task is impossible, it’s just the right size for God. Andrew was the math whiz of Jesus’ followers, and he just knew that five loaves and two fishes wouldn’t even give everybody a crumb. When I left the comfort zone of my first job for mission service, I wondered how I would ever survive on what the mission considered “just enough.” Yet I always had “just enough,” and never had to dip into my personal savings, which eventually paid for a year at Bible college. I even had “fragments” to share with others.

*If God has a task for you, He has a method to get it done. Jesus didn’t randomly throw crumbs and fish bits at the crowd. He had them sit in orderly picnic groups. As the baskets were passed, the miracle of multiplication took place. I saw that happen every time I wrote a book. Yes, I had done my research and had files of loosely organized notes. But the raw form of a book emerged only through prayer-saturated seat-in-chair, one page at a time.

*If God is in it, He will get the glory. The little boy who gave up his lunch didn’t get paraded around the hills as the hero of the day. All eyes were on Jesus. That’s the way it should be. Years ago I had the privilege of hearing Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom. The church was packed for the visit of this simple Dutch lady. I’ve been to “speaker training” and learned that speakers should “power dress” and begin with “power stories” to reach an audience. Corrie did none of that. She just came in her cotton dress and spoke about the Bible, God’s care, and the love of Jesus. And when the applause came, she pointed to the ceiling—that is, to Heaven, to give God the glory.

There’s another detail from this feeding miracle worth considering. It took place right after Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist was beheaded. Matthew 13:14 says that Jesus, upon hearing this horrific news, “withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” In His humanity, He sought aloneness to grieve. I think God is telling us that when we go through a traumatic time, it’s okay to pull back briefly to heal. But that’s not to be a permanent condition. In Jesus’ case, word of mouth quickly moved the crowd to His new location, and He resumed His role as Teacher, Healer and Savior—the Bread of Life.

The bread I bake from scratch needs to be eaten up within a few days or it will mold. Spiritual riches left unshared by excuses like “I can’t do it” also go stale. Feel you have too little? Remember, Jesus multiplied crumbs.