Antioch Agent

John 6:9 “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”

These were the words of Andrew, the disciple as an indication of the utter incredulity of the situation. Before them were a ‘great company’ of people of which (just numbering the men) amounted to 5000, and Jesus just said to them “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”. Philips had quipped “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little”. In short, they were seemingly short of money, short of resources … short of ideas.

Here was a little boy who had 7 items. 5 barley loaves, of which barley was known to be the poor man’s bread. 2 small fishes, though we can’t be quite certain how small, but it has been said that it was probably the small kind that you’d salt and pickle.  Thus, if they were pooling resources to feed the multitude, there was one thing you could have put down this little boy’s possible contribution to the pool as … absolutely insignificant.

Still we read that after Jesus had everyone comfortably seated on the grass on the mountain ranges …

John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

There were just some things that really stood out for me in this account. It is that when we present whatever little or seemingly insignificant contribution to the Lord, the Lord can use it for His glory and bless us and others in unimaginable degrees. Not only was the little boy filled, but so were many many others. The multiplication factor is confounding, because it ended up with 12 baskets full. John reminds us that the origins were from the 5 loaves. We can only imagine the delight in the boy’s eyes as he saw the miracle performed before him, seeing that Jesus could do so much with so little at His disposal. All that was required was a childlike willingness to give what he had to the Lord. Another wonderful thing we see from the lad was that when he gave it to the Lord, he gave all. And when we give to the Lord, He will see to it that nothing goes to waste.

We’ve got to admit that at times when we give to the Lord sometimes it may seem to us as a sacrifice. But it really should be rightly viewed as an act of sowing. In the NT Paul lays down the principle below.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

The principle is that if we’re stingy on the seeds, the reaping process will reflect the sowing. If we sow bountifully, the reaping will certainly be joyous time. When we’ve done our part sowing, God provides the rain & sunshine for it to grow. Just as in the case of sowing, it may take some time before you see the results but this is a most assuredly a promise that the Lord gives to us. But the blessing will certainly come if we’re investing right, in the things of the Lord. And how God loves to see His people give from their hearts with the right attitude. I like the word ‘cheerful’ as it’s tells us that it’s got to be done with a happy disposition just as the Lord enables and we purpose in our hearts. Take away the ‘cheerful’ from that, and it counts for little in God’s eyes.

In the OT we have a few more thoughts on giving to the Lord.

Malachi 3:10 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

Personally, this is a challenge to all of us. We know God will certainly provide for His people. But can we trust God enough that we’d put our money where our mouth is? How is our tithing and do we give Him the firstfruits of all our increase? Can we trust that if we give liberally and from the heart to the Lord that we will not be left in want but we’ll have to be ready for a greater blessings from the Lord to follow? I believe there is no doubt about it. Our God will supply our every need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil 4:9).

Let us give ourselves to the Lord wholly and holy for His use and then, He can and will most certainly use us if we give of ourselves unreservedly to Him. I don’t think God stands to gain much from this, He is the great Creator who already has everything at His own disposal and His storehouses are never empty. It’s really to our gain when we give and receive the fruit of our joyful obedience.

I think a little lad taught me something today.