Wednesday, September 2, 2015

One Handful at a Time
By Elin Henderson

“So, He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they  set them before the multitude.”
Mark 8:6 (NKJV)
           
Needy multitudes. This story in Mark 8 might be thousands of years old but the needy multitudes are still with us today! Whether it is 4 or 4,000 we are surrounded by people with needs every day. People who are needy for our time, our love, our support, our finances, our counsel, and more.  We, as disciples of Jesus, are called to follow Him into the midst of these multitudes to minister. But, more so than that, He is calling us to participate firsthand in the miracles He will perform in our  midst!

The feeding of the 4,000 actually comes after what we would consider a ministry marathon. Their resources were depleted and the disciples themselves were weary and depleted. Then Jesus calls them to take the little that they can scrounge up to eat and share it with this multitude. There wasn’t enough to feed the 4,000 let alone have anything left over for the disciples themselves to eat. 

Jesus miraculously took the meager fish and bread and began dividing it and handing it to the disciples. Each of the disciples came forward, picked up a handful and started distributing it. When their hands were empty, they turned and returned to the Master to fill them once again. Jesus could have just miraculously made bread and fish appear in the lap of each person there, but He chose to use the disciples to serve the multitude. Little by little, the crowds were fed and the disciples got a front row seat to an awesome miracle. More so than that, they got a front row seat in the act of serving and giving. 

Is Jesus inviting you to participate in a miracle with him today? You might look down at your meager resources and say, “It’s not enough, God!” Then, He takes that meagerness and fills your hands with His miraculous provision. “Now, go, my disciple,” He says, “And feed that little group over there.” When that supply runs out, you lift up your eyes, find the Master and return to Him for more provisions. He gives you just what you need to reach out to the next person, then the next, then the next until the crowd is fed, one miraculous handful at a time. And you got to be a part!

GOING DEEPER:
1.      What would you say are the top 5 needs of the “multitudes” around you? 
2.      How are your resources looking? Where can you go to receive what you need to reach out and serve?

FURTHER READING:


Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa.  Elin is mother to fifteen-year-old Callie and twelve-year-old Elias.