“Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?””
John 6:7-9 NLT
Andrew must have been listening in on the conversation that Jesus was having with Philip about bread, and feeding all these people, and he noticed in the crowd a small boy, whose mother had had the foresight to supply with a packed lunch, and he used that as an illustration of the problem of feeding a multitude of people. I have heard preachers use this verse in the context of bringing what we have to God for Him to use as He requires. And it is true that we hold all that we have in open hands, so that if our resources are useful for someone else then we can make them available. But perhaps in this encounter, an opportunity arose for a miracle of feeding many people.
God has, of course, done such a thing before. We read in Exodus 16 how the Israelite slaves, now in the wilderness, were running out of food and they started to complain to Moses. God’s response was an amazing miracle, as we read in Exodus 16:4, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions””. Manna was an extraordinary food. The “flaky substance as fine as frost” (Exodus 16:14) contained all the vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates needed for a healthy life. It was a perfect food, far surpassing anything found naturally and with it God fed the Israelites for forty years. Some people have calculated that there may have been as many as two million people. That’s a lot of meals!
But what prompted Andrew to tell Jesus about the boy with the five loaves and two fishes? Did he perhaps have a hint of faith that Jesus could do something with a little food to feed a multitude? This whole episode became a learning episode for the disciples. But it is also for us today, because it tells us much about Jesus. He cares for us. Plain and simple. Today, the world generates more food than is needed to feed the whole population, and all the time new farming methods are increasing yields and quality, but the problem is distribution. The Western nations have ended up with too much and what we call the third world too little.
The account of the loaves and fishes is important in that it tells us that God is interested in every aspect of our life here on earth. We sometimes take food for granted and instead elevate our minds into lofty Heavenly places, or get involved in other earthly pursuits. Food only becomes important to us when we don’t have any. But perhaps we need to review our whole person, with all its needs, physical and spiritual, and bring them into line with God’s perspective. Perhaps a little less natural food, and a little more spiritual food would go some way to ensuring God’s people are properly balanced, body, soul and spirit.
Father God. Thank You that You are interested in every part of mankind. Please help us to lead spiritually and naturally healthy lives, to Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 