ARE YOU WITH ME!!! (Luke 9:14-17, Feeding the 5000, English version)

For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, "Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each." 
They did so, and had them all sit down. 
Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. 
And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.  (Luke 9:14-17)

When we ponder on the occasion of Jesus feeding the five thousand, it is such an epic moment! This kind of event was supposed to have proper preparation: a banquet with five thousand heads of families.

The significance of this is: JESUS DID NOT DO THIS ALL BY HIMSELF, rather, he was assisted by his twelve disciples.

Can Jesus feed them all by Himself? YOU BET! Because He is GOD. He could have called upon The Manna from the heaven in that instance, but he chose to involve His disciples. He wanted His disciples to get on board with His plan. Wow! Isn't that amazing? God is willing to partner with us. It didn't stop there, the disciples in turn involved the people in groups of fifty and one hundred Editor's note: or 100 groups of 50s). The loaves of bread and the pieces of fish were distributed from Jesus' own hand to the disciples and then to the groups in stages and in an orderly fashion. Now, ponder this! The disciples did not distribute the food straight to five thousand plus people, but instead gave the food to the groups of fifty [and the groups of one hundred]. Each of this groupings would have appointed a leader. The disciples would have distributed the food to these leaders instead. Then these leaders would have distributed it to each of the smaller groupings down to the individuals. Finally, all these individuals played a role in this distribution process, everyone got involved!

I am extremely proud to have this kind of invitation. An invitation to be involved in His plan. Isn't this similar to our day to day encounter in our congregations of local churches? God wants us to be involved in His plan. Local churches are the expression (and the representatives) of His work on the earth. It is everyone's responsibility to get involved, not just the pastors or the full timers.

I can't honestly imagine our pastors, in a church packed full of people on a Sunday morning doing everything solo. Greeting the congregations as an usher, being the parking attendants, preparing and leading the worship session, playing the instruments, delivering sermon, and teaching all by themselves.  Plus if there is a holy communion, they would have to distribute the wine and the bread to the congregations. Awww what a nightmare! they wouldn't be finished until Monday morning came.

In this world, God needs us to be involved in His plan.

In His Church, GOD needs us to be involved in the ministries according to our strength and our talents.

What's in our hands, the loaves and the fishes that God put in our hands, can be miracles to others. They may seem small and insignificant in our hands, but we will never know when they can be miracles to others.

An usher, for instance, greets someone with a smile and such a joy that they melt a man's heart and bring forth God's unconditional acceptance for this man without the usher being even remotely aware of this man's sadness and brokenness. The smile the usher splashed upon him became like a cool spring of water splashed upon a barren desert.

The Lord has a great plan for this earth, for the benefits of His Kingdom. Our part to play in this is getting INVOLVED, to be a channel for God. Whether we are aware or not, the Lord needs us. What the Lord puts in our hands may be someone's miracle waiting to happen. Never hesitate to give it away for others. In the end, there are always twelve baskets left.

You and me are in this together, for the Kingdom of God.

Are you with me?