Hope On The Rise

Everyone loves the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. It’s one of the favorite sites to visit in Galilee. As a matter of fact all four gospel writers include this miracle in their narrative.
That’s a clear signal about its importance and popularity.
Some people like to focus on the supernatural math. Five loaves plus two fish feeds five thousand and there are twelve basketfuls left over.
Others like to focus on the skill of Andrew to convince a boy to give up his lunch. I’ve also heard preachers who made over the twelve leftover baskets and what the disciples may have done with them.
The best message I ever heard on this miracle was given by the late Dr. George O. Wood who served as our General Superintendent for ten years from 2007 to 2017. He unpacked this story by comparing the Law of Failure and the Law of Success.
The Law of Failure is,
*Overwhelmed by the size of the task. It would take eight months of wages to feed this crowd is Philip’s estimate. To translate that amount to the 21st Century we are talking 56K dollars on an 84K dollar year salary
* Limited by the little you have. Only five loaves and two fish, how far will they go among so many is Andrew’s assessment.
*Leaves the Lord out of the picture. No one counted on Jesus giving thanks to the Father for the boys lunch and then exceeding their expectation with an amazing miracle of multiplying the loaves and the fish.
On the other hand the Law of Success,
*Is not overwhelmed by the size of the task. Jesus sees potential.
*Is not limited by the little we have. Jesus is the master over quantity.
*Would never leave the Lord out of the picture. Jesus is always willing and available to help.
All of us can learn a transformational life lesson from the boy who gave his lunch. What I keep is all I have. What I give God multiplies.
And that’s Hope on the Rise for Now!