Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 15, 2020
When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Matthew 14:15-18
Jesus blesses and multiplies even our weakest efforts. I believe this is one of the primary lessons we can learn from Matthew 14, and this is indeed wonderful news for you and for me! Jesus is not asking us to perform a miracle in our own strength, he is simply asking us to have faith and believe that he is who he claims to be.
Our Lord does not need us in order to bring about his plans and purposes, yet in his kindness and love he invites us into the story he is telling. He wants us to join him in the work he is doing, yet our participation is not demanded of us. When Jesus says “Bring them here to me,” I read these words, not as a command, but as an invitation. Of course, Jesus is able to command anything he pleases, and at times does this very thing, commanding the wind and waves to be still, for example, yet when it comes to our life of discipleship and partnership in mission, I do not believe him to be forceful with us or demanding of our participation. When he draws near, his words are always an open invitation which we are free to receive or reject.
For example, I think of his words to the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19, beginning with the invitational word if – “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Similarly, to the blind men of Matthew 20 asking for the mercy of God, Jesus does not give a command but instead asks a question – “What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus sees our weaknesses, he sees our inadequacies, our inabilities to offer solutions on our own, and he says, “Can you bring me what you have?”
A few fish and loaves of bread is clearly not enough to feed thousands upon thousands of people, yet what happens when our weak offering is met with the blessing of Almighty God? We enter into an abundant feast! Choose to believe today that even your weakest yet sincere efforts will be met, sustained, and multiplied by his grace!
Prayer
Father, thank you that you enter into our weakness and invite us to participate with you in the work of your Kingdom. Give us the faith to respond joyfully to the invitation you place before us, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
What do you have, simple as it may be, that you can offer to the Lord, trusting that he will receive it and multiply it in ways you cannot possibly imagine?
Related Reading
Psalm 31:19; Matthew 6:33; James 1:17
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