(Matthew 14:14-21)
14 When He came ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is secluded and the hour is already past to eat; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat!” 17 They said to Him, “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the crowds to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looked up toward heaven. He blessed the food and breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces: twelve full baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
TODAY'S TAKEAWAY
Having a topic-quest makes me stay hyper-focused with a kind of Q&A direction (NOT to find and see what I want to see - but what God wants me to find, see and understand). But what is also helpful is the exercise of highlighting words which helps me to see more things than if I simply read the verses. And what stood out to me here was a very clear-cut example of how the Lord is all about our relationship with Him, as well as with others.
First of all, the Lord Jesus had selfless and sacrificial compassion on the people who came to Him for healing. And when it got late, He didn't chase them away, even though He would have been tired, and He still hadn't had a chance to get in that quiet moment after John's execution. Instead, Jesus invites them to "His table", just as He invites every single person to come to His table to be nourished and fulfilled... which is accept His forgiveness, mercy, grace, salvation, satisfaction, fulfillment, purpose, blessings, eternal life and true and close fellowship with Him.
In becoming a child of the Lord God, while we should cherish our one-on-one time with Him in our daily devotions and prayers, He also wants us to fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as to serve one another. But here is how the Lord wants it to work! Notice the sequence above!
- the disciples want the people to leave...
- Jesus asks that the people stay and eat
- Jesus asks His disciples to feed them
- the disciples look at their physical limitations and problems...
- Jesus asks the disciples to bring Him what they do have
- Jesus blesses and multiplies what the disciples give Him
- Jesus asks the disciples to serve the people
- the people are satisfied
- the disciples and the people witness a miracle, and there are leftovers
Jesus asks us to His table, and He wants us to invite others to join us at His table. When Jesus asks us to "feed" them (to share His gospel message), Jesus wants us to bring Him our problems, struggles and issues, and give Him all of our time, energy and resources! THEN, Jesus does it FOR us, because He desires that we ask and allow Him to work FOR us, in us, and through us! He then takes what we give Him, and blesses and multiplies it, in order to serve Him and others! And in our serving Him, others will become children of God... a major blessing and multiplication of children in God's kingdom!!!
There will always be satisfaction, and there will always be enough! This is not a name-it-and-claim-it kind of thing. The Lord will see to it that we have what we need, and sometimes what we want. And the Lord will definitely reward our deeds that are done with pure motives, which is to do everything in His love, strength and righteousness, all to His glory! But the biggest blessing is being in a relationship with God, to sit at His table, to fellowship, and be nourished, fulfilled and satisfied!!!
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