Think with me about the feeding of the 5,000. The number of people who experienced the miracle that day was more like 12,000 to 15,000. The reason - women and children were not counted because in that period of time, they were considered non-entities.
You know what happened next. Jesus took the bread and fish and fed the entire group.
A big part of the story is the boy sacrificing his lunch.
But have you ever noticed what it says about the boy and his lunch in John 8?
Another of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
A small boy with a small lunch was used by Jesus to perform a huge miracle.
There are so many great truths in this passage. Here are a few that stand out to me.
1. Jesus loves to take small things and do big things with it. He performs miracles in people and through people that could never have happened without Him.
Do you sometimes look at the obstacles and challenges ahead of you and know you can't make it happen on your own.
That's great! That's exactly where Jesus wants you to be. He can take what you have...no matter how big or small it is...and do a big miracle with it.
2. Jesus is looking for people who make themselves available.
You may feel small. You may not have any great talents. You may not be the biggest thinker. You may not be the most eloquent orator. That's good. You're exactly who Jesus is looking for. He can use people to demonstrate His power in you and through you.
In God's Word, we see this time and time again. Moses wasn't a great speaker. Gideon was the least of the least in his family and his family was considered one of the weakest families in the land. Paul the Apostle had a background of persecuting believers. Jeremiah the prophet expressed his insecurities, when asked to help. On and on we could go with examples of people greatly used by God because they were willing to make themselves available.
3. To be used by God to do a miracles, you must surrender completely. If the boy had decided not to give his lunch, he would have missed the miraculous. If you want God to use you must give Him every part of your life. The boy didn't say, "I' will give you 3 of the little barley loaves, but I'm keeping two for myself." And he didn't say, "I'll split my lunch with you. I'll give you one of the small fish, but the other one stays for me.
Doesn't work that way. When God asked for it all, you must be willing to give it all.
4. Jesus can take your talents and abilities and do more with it in a second, than you could do in a lifetime. The little boy could never had feel 5,000+ people by himself. But when he placed it in Jesus' hands, the supernatural got involved and there was so much food that they had 12 extra basket fulls.
5. God can use you to impact other people. You can have a part in a great move of God. Think about all the people who were there that day. Talk about a huge impact. The little boy got to see thousands of people impacted because of his willingness to place his small lunch into Jesus' hands.
6. God likes using little kids to do big things. We see this in Sculpture as well. He used a boy named David to bring victory against the Philistines. He used a little girl to bring healing to Namaan. He used Samuel when he was a little boy in the temple.
It's time we let kids use the gifts and talents God has provided for them. Though they may seem insignificant now, they are the future of the church and can make a significant difference now and in the future.
God wants to use your life in a great way also. He simply asking you to surrender everything to Him. Surrender what He is asking for. And watch for prayers that come from children. Those prayers can change the world!
