Multiplication

Lately, I’ve been feeling very much like a small fish in a very big pond. It’s hard to trust media these days, but from what I can gather, 2 million Ukrainians have fled their home country, thereby becoming refugees, scattered through Europe and beyond. I absolutely believe that because I’ve seen just a small pocket of it over the past 11 days. The enormity of what we’re attempting to help with can start to feel overwhelming when I take a moment to view the bigger picture.

There’s a story in the Bible of a very large group of people who had gone out to listen to Jesus preach. This was like old-school packed-stadium type of crowd. At some point, it became apparent that a food break would be necessary, as they’d been there all day, but unfortunately there were no fast food joints nearby. Jesus didn’t want a bunch of hangry people creating chaos so he sends his disciples out into the crowd to source what food could be found. Out of the whole crowd (at least 5000 people) one boy had five loaves and two fish. According to the story, Jesus takes this little lunch, blesses it, and proceeds to feed this huge crowd, with enough leftovers to feed a small homeschool family of 15 for a week (creative, self-depreciating liberty with that last part).

This story has been a comfort to me over the past few days for three reasons.

First of all, someone had the forethought to prepare for the long haul. Granted, it was only one person in a group of 5000, but it was enough to help bring a solution to what could have been an overwhelming problem. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say it was the boy’s mama. As that mama packed her boy’s lunch, she was preparing her son for his day, but was unknowingly feeding a crowd. I’ve been watching people in my team thoughtfully plan out how we can the most useful, and how we can maintain this for as long as is needed. To me, these people might feel like they’re caring for one small team, but their care and preparation is undoubtedly having a wider effect that we may never see or comprehend. They’re feeding a crowd.

Secondly, the boy was willing to give up his lunch. I don’t know for sure, but he probably thought he’d be feeding Jesus. But really his generosity ended up feeding the whole crowd. In the moments where we think what we’re doing only affects one, or a few, Jesus is taking that and multiplying it in ways we could never have imagined beforehand. It reminds me that if I focus on giving what I can to God, he is the one who gives it the potential to cover far more ground than I could ever have imagined.

Thirdly, I love how God and me are similar in that when we feed people, we want there to be leftovers. For me, it’s always a bad sign when I have people over for a meal, and at the end of eating there is no food left. I’m never 100% confident that everyone is well fed. But Jesus takes that little meal, feeds everyone to the point of satisfaction, and then has enough leftovers to feed a small nunnery in France. If God’s character is consistent, then in any situation we face, when we give our little, God is not only feeding a crowd, but there will be enough left over to do even more with. The generosity of God is constantly flooring me.

What I see in this small story and in what I’m witnessing every day, is that there are individuals and small organisations here where the need is great, all offering their little lunch. And God is taking that small lunch and feeding thousands.

So I rest a little easier, knowing that while I might be a small fish in a big pond, my God multiplies fish.