Can You Pack A Lunch?

Karen

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

—John 6:8–9

Can a simple sack lunch change the world?

The scene was a mountainside, near the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was in the midst of a busy season of ministry. All around the crowds pressed in, hoping to capture a glimpse of Jesus.

We pick up the scene in John 6:5–7. “When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’”

Not only had a crowd gathered, but it was a hungry horde. And they expected Jesus to feed them. Philip quickly began to crunch the numbers and determined just how impossible a little impromptu mountainside picnic would be. But what seemed an impossible feat to Philip would soon become a glorious display of God’s power.

Another disciple, Andrew, piped up. He told Jesus that a young boy had five barley baguettes and two tiny fish. Not much of a lunch, but it was more than enough for Jesus.

This familiar story from Scripture often focuses on the young lad sharing what he had. But have you ever stopped to wonder where this child got the food? Had he been running an errand for his family, buying fish and bread at the marketplace as many Bible scholars surmise? Or maybe, as I heard a pastor once suggest, this was his own sustenance for the day—a sack lunch of sorts his mother had lovingly packed.

This child wasn’t just armed with the food Jesus needed to nourish others; he also possessed a humble heart and a generous spirit. And he was best positioned to give because someone empowered him to do so. Yes, maybe his mama not only packed him a sack lunch, but she taught him some good manners as well. In the end, it resulted in many being nourished.

Many people could use your help. Whether you decide to give to a particular missionary or homeless shelter, whether you give financially or with your time, there are others out there who need you. These people are waiting for someone to help them so they can then go help others. But before these souls can do this, they first need to be filled up. They need their spiritual sack lunch packed.

Helping others soul be fed spiritually—by praying for them, encouraging them with scripture, or studying the Bible with them—not only changes their lives . . . it can help change yours as well.

Father, I want to generously give to others so they, in turn, might change their worlds. In Jesus’ name, amen.

How is God calling you to help nourish someone else spiritually?