Recently at church, one of the readings was the story of
Jesus feeding 5,000. For my friends who
do not know this story, I will give a brief overview of this story. At this particular time, in the Bible, Jesus
is being followed by huge crowds. As
evening approaches, the disciples encourage Jesus to send the huge crowd away,
for they have no food to feed them.
There is a boy, among the crowd, that has some loaves of bread and a few
fish. Jesus takes the food from the
boys, blesses it, and multiplies it to feed 5,000 men and their family, with 12
large, wicker baskets leftover.(Please understand that the Bible does this
story much better justice than I just did.
I encourage you to read the gospel of John 6:1-15)
This is by far my favorite Bible story, EVER!! For some reason, I could listen to any
priest, preach about this story and I never get tired of it. Every time I hear this story, I get a
different point of view. Many wonder
about the miracle of taking five loaves of bread and two fish, and allowing
them to feed so many. Some often look at
it from the boy’s point of view, giving of his food for the sake of others. Others may even question the disciples and
their faith in the power of God.
But not too long ago, I heard a sermon about this story from
a very unique point of view, the leftover fragments. Now I am sure you are questioning my sanity,
but I must say, it was a great point of view.
I will try to do it justice in my words.
In today’s fast paced world, we are so busy moving from
place to place, or trying to accomplish this thing or that thing, that I am not
sure we often look at the details. As I
write this, I can tell you I am guilty on countless occasions of trying to get
things done quickly, to get on to the next task at hand, as to accomplish the
overwhelming list of things to do. I
often get side tracked by my smart phone and answering an email, which often
leads to me missing some little fragment of information, either from my children,
my wife, staff member, boss, my God, this list is truly endless.
In all the details of feeding 5,000 men and their families,
Jesus never missed a detail. He even
made his disciples pick up the scraps and leftovers. I am pretty sure Jesus was not living by one
of my favorite mottos, if you rent or use a space, make sure it is cleaner than
it was when you got it. I can also bet
Jesus was not worried about litter or being green, as we would in today's society, when he insisted on the
disciples picking up every fragment. I
believe this was Jesus trying to convey to us that even the smallest morsel, or
fragment, is important.
Even though we live in this fast paced, GIGANTIC world, and
we might often feel too small for Jesus to even notice. It is nice to know that He cares for us, no
matter how small or big we perceive ourselves.
We do not have to be a Nobel Prize winning author, or have been awarded
the humanitarian of the year, for Jesus to care for us and recognize us. We do not have to be the greatest evangelist
to get the love of Jesus. All we have to
do is accept Him into our lives, follow Him, and He will give us the guidance we
need, regardless of the fact that we might be a large slice of bread or even a
crumb, He loves and cares for us all.
Love this! I'm proud of you.
ReplyDeleteJulie
Whoever thought someone could feel good by comparing themselves to table scraps. In fact it might be good to think of ourselves this way. If we remove the pressure to have the best classroom lesson, the best strategic plan, write a blog that answers life's questions for everyone and just do what we do well and do it for the Kingdom Jesus will always love us.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for principals to stay active educating. A blog is a perfect way to connect with your parents, students, and the public. Good luck and God bless.