More Than Enough

“A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them. ¹¹ Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted.” John 6: 9-11

When I was a very young child growing up, I used to hear stories about “Big Meeting Sunday or Homecoming Sunday.”  The congregation would have Sunday school and morning worship. Then all of the members would pop their trunks and set up tables outside. Inside those trunks were fried chicken, cornbread, pots of rice, macaroni and cheese, homemade cakes and pies and the like. Then someone would make a barrel full of fresh lemonade and pitchers of iced tea.  The members would serve each other, laugh and fellowship. Then they would pack up the leftovers and head back in for another evening service.  They would enjoy each other and be praising God all day long.

I can see hints of “Big Meeting Sunday” in how Jesus fed the 5000 people with just two fish and five loaves of bread. They ate, fellowshipped and enjoyed Jesus as our ancestors did.  The crowd followed Jesus all day long and they did not want to go home.  Jesus saw that it was getting late and He knew that the people needed something to eat. So he asked Phillip (One of His disciples) if they had enough to feed the people. Phillip told him that not even six months pay could have bought enough bread to feed the people. Andrew found a young boy with two fish and five loaves of bread.  Jesus blessed and shared with all the people. They ate there fill and they collected 12 baskets of leftover.  Jesus took very little and made it be more than enough for the crowd.

Just imagine how different the story would have been if that little boy did not trust Jesus with what he had to offer.  That meal he had prepared was probably the only meal that he would have that day.  He didn’t hesitate or did he make excuses.  He gave Jesus all he had and Jesus used it to provide more than enough food for thousands of people.  Imagine the possibilities of what we can do if we were just as obedient and helpful as the little boy was.  We may have very little in gifts, talents, and pay. However, if we offer what we have for the sake of Christ and His people, Jesus can multiply it thousands of times over.

If we just take a little bit of time each day to serve God and others it will be more than enough to someone else.  Every little bit helps.  We may not have “Big meeting Sundays” like we use to but we can still come together and share our talents and feed the hungry.  We can still come together and volunteer at a school or retirement community.  We can still come together and tell hour stories of how God touched our lives.  Those little things can make a huge impact on someone’s life.  On this day continue to be thankful and continue to honor Christ. The One who can take little and make it more than enough.