“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied.” – Mark 6:41-42 (NIV)
A boy had a lunch. Five small barley loaves and two small fish. It was not enough for the disciples and Jesus, let alone for five thousand men plus women and children, and Andrew said as much when he brought it to Jesus: here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many? The question is entirely reasonable. The answer is: far enough. More than far enough. Twelve baskets of leftovers far enough.
The lunch was the boy’s. He could have kept it. The crowd was hungry, but the crowd was not his responsibility, and nobody would have faulted a child for declining to hand over the only food he had to be distributed among thousands of strangers. But he gave it. John’s account tells us that Andrew brought the boy to Jesus, which suggests the boy came willingly, which is itself remarkable. He presented what he had to the One who could do something with it that he could not.
Jesus took the loaves and the fish, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, and broke them. The giving thanks before the miracle, before any visible evidence of multiplication, is one of the most instructive details in the story. Gratitude for what was given before the giving had produced anything beyond its natural proportion. And then He began to distribute, and the distribution kept going until everyone was satisfied, and when the disciples gathered what remained there were twelve baskets, more at the end than at the beginning.
Think about the person looking at what they have and concluding it is too little to offer. The gift that seems too small for the need it is being presented toward. The contribution that seems disproportionate to the problem. The resource that feels embarrassingly inadequate given the scale of the situation. This is the boy’s calculation before he offered the lunch. Jesus’s calculation is different. What is offered to Jesus is never evaluated by its original volume. It is evaluated by the hands it passes through before it is distributed. Give the lunch. Let Jesus handle the mathematics.
The disciples distributed what Jesus had broken. They were the delivery mechanism. Twelve baskets were the remainder, one for each of them, as though to say: the one who makes themselves available to distribute what Jesus multiplies will always have more at the end than they began with. The boy gave his whole lunch. The disciples ended the day with a basket each.
Today, offer what you have, however small it seems relative to the need. Give it to Jesus. Watch what He does with the mathematics.
Prayer
Father, I bring you the five loaves and two fish. I know it is not enough by any natural calculation for the crowd in front of me. But I give it to you anyway, trusting that what passes through your hands does not stay in its original proportion. Take what I have, give thanks over it, break it, and distribute it. I will carry the basket. In Jesus’ name, amen.
