Lent: A Journey to Hope in Uncertain Timesಮಾದರಿ

The account of Jesus feeding the tremendously large crowd appears in all four biographies of His life. But the version found in John characterizes it delightfully. The disciples come to Jesus, worried about the crowd being hungry. It would appear that (in this observation) their hearts were in the right place. Their solution to this need was sending the people away to find food. The disciples wanted to dismiss folks to solve their own food needs before it became a problem for Jesus and themselves. But Jesus is having none of it. He tells the disciples, “You feed them.” It’s possible the disciples found themselves (once again) looking at each other with sideways glances and head tilts as if to say, “What does He want us to do now?!?” But what seems to be a rebuke was actually Jesus’ invitation—an invitation for them to participate in God’s provision and generosity. And, the person who steps into this invitation in John’s account is not the disciples but a young boy. He steps forward with the lunch he had brought and willingly shares it with Jesus. Talk about the faith of a child! Food was not the only thing that multiplied that day; authentic, lived-out hope and generosity were also!

REFLECT

• What does the disciples’ response tell you about their mindset on God’s ability to provide? How about the boy’s response?

RESPOND

• What about the boy’s response inspires you in your own life today?