A Little Fish Story

Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6 all record the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes with five loaves and two fish.   The story of the power of Jesus to take a little boy’s snack pack and feed thousands of people continues to marvel and inspire us today.  In fact, as Tim Tebow reflected on this story in his book “Shaken” he wrote, “You can take away so many lessons from this story, but the one thing that strikes me is how God can do a lot with what we think is a little.  How He can take something that can be described as ‘insignificant’ or ‘not enough’ or ‘small’ or ‘meaningless’ and use it to perform a miracle.  He can do the same with you.  It didn’t matter if the boy had five loaves or five thousand loaves, the amount is not the point.  God doesn’t want your stuff.  He wants your heart.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t think it’s good enough.” 

Do we ever felt like we don’t have much to offer?  Do we look at the size of our congregation and lament how few of us there are and how big the world’s problems seem to be?  Do we compare the Lord’s Church to other movements and feel overwhelmed and understaffed?  Let me ask this another way, do we ever feel like the five loaves and two fish?  Logically, there is reason for concern; but, the great thing about being tools in the hands of the Lord is that “logic” is not the final word.  As Tebow reflected on God’s power to use what is given to Him he referenced the Old Testament passage that reminds us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

I find it interesting that a young man like Tim Tebow, at times, feels insignificant.   He is handsome, talented, driven, wealthy and has been given a national stage on which to share his beliefs.  As I thought about that, I was taken back to his thought, “It didn’t matter if the boy had five loaves or five thousand loaves, the amount is not the point.”.  Simply put, on our own we’ll never have enough and in the hands of God nothing is insignificant! 


As we reflect on our role in the powerful hands of God, I am drawn to another passage in Isaiah, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8).  Are we willing to have the humility to be vessel through which God influences the world?  Are we willing to be bold though to offer ourselves up as the vessel through which God influences the world?

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