When Jesus heard that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been executed, He wanted to get away to be alone with His disciples. Away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Away to the peaceful countryside where birds sang in the trees and coyotes howled in the distance. Yet, people followed Him. Lots of people. Do you think they heard what happened to John the Baptist? I think they did, and I think that’s why they followed Jesus. He had compassion on them and spent the day healing the sick, comforting the grieving and answering tough questions. At the end of the day He told His disciples He wanted to feed the crowd.
“It would take eight months wages to pay for everyone here to have a bite,” they said.
A boy offered all he had, his lunch. Jesus smiled, took the five loaves of bread and two small fish, and lifted them up to Heaven, thanking the Father. Then He gave the food to the disciples to distribute to the crowd of five thousand men (not counting their families). They could hardly believe what happened. The more food they gave, the more they had to give. They gave and gave until everyone ate and was satisfied. Then the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers, enough for each to take a basket home to their families, enough to keep the miracle alive in their hearts for a long time.
When you feel like what you can do is not enough, remember what the boy did. He gave what he had and the Lord multiplied his gift. When you feel sad about something, remember the crowd that came to Jesus for comfort and healing. You can come to Him too. Say His name and He will be with you. He is never too busy for you. He loves you so much He died for your sin, the bad things you do, so you wouldn’t have to. When He did that, it meant that you could live with Him forever, trusting Him with whatever concerns you.
Lord Jesus, I pray for the person reading your story. Thank you for showing us how much you love us. Thank you for always being with us. Amen.
Kid Konnection 