The "M&Ms" of the master

Since setting up home in the States, my family and I have enthusiastically adopted the American tradition of doing cookouts in our backyard—more so now with international (and American) cadets from the US Air Force Academy descending on our home most weekends. And boy, these cadets can really eat!
 
I’m reminded of two big “cookouts” the Lord and His disciples held for the multitudes who’d gathered to hear Jesus preach on two different occasions. The first time in Matthew 14:13-21, where Jesus, with an investment of just five fish and two loaves, fed a crowd of five thousand (not including women and children), after which the disciples collected twelve baskets of leftovers. This remarkable feat was followed by a second picnic in Matthew 15:34-28, where our Lord fed four thousand (again, not including women and children) with seven loaves and a few small fish.
 
I want to point out four things from these two impromptu and quite extraordinary events. Firstly, notice that whenever Jesus happens to be, the Mundane becomes the Miraculous! Jesus performs mind-blowing miracles using simple and ordinary things at His disposal. “How much bread do you have?” Jesus asked His disciples (Matthew 15:34). At the feeding of the five thousand, some kid’s school lunch became a miracle that fed thousands. “What’s that in your hand?” God asked Moses (Exodus 4:2), and a well-worn shepherd’s staff turned into a symbol of God’s awesome power over the elements as well as the dark arts of Pharoah’s magicians. It isn’t what others have—to wish for that is to covet, and God commands us against covetousness (Exodus 20:17)—but what has God given to us?
 
David intuitively understood this. Rather than accept Saul’s armor and weapons, which he wasn’t accustomed to, David went with what he had—his staff, sling, and stones—against a battle-hardened armored giant with sword, spear, and javelin (1 Samuel 17). To paraphrase a line from that great chanteuse/poet/philosopher, Taylor Swift, David brought a knife to a gunfight. For David, the simple tools he had on hand and his skill with them, when placed fully in God’s hands, turned the mundane into the miraculous!
 
Secondly, when God is with us, what is Minute becomes Many! From the little the disciples had—a few loaves and some fish—Jesus super-duper-sized them and fed thousands, with leftovers to spare! Years ago, in a decrepit Karen village in the conflict-prone border between Myanmar and Thailand, my church buddies and I were handing out care packs we’d brought to Karen children. That long snaking line of children quickly grew to more than twice, possibly triple, the number of packs we had with us. Unbeknownst to us, word had gotten out that we were coming and kids from neighboring villages, some hiking for hours over mountain trails, had made their way to this village. Like the disciples, our initial reaction was “Uh-oh, we don’t have enough for everyone!” And yet, as we lifted prayers heavenward and dished out care packs to the eager children crowding round us, everyone got something. Miraculously, God increased the number of packs as we were handing them out.
 
Thirdly, when we MINISTER for God, He often turns it into a MISSIONARY endeavor! The God we worship and serve is a Missional God. Ever wondered why the need in Scripture for two cookouts? Isn’t one enough? In the feeding of the five thousand, the word for the baskets which the disciples used, kophinos, (in the original Greek text of the New Testament) refers to a wicker basket used by Jews. But in the feeding of the four thousand, the word used for “basket” is spyris, a large reed basket commonly used by Gentile merchants to transport their merchandise. What this implies is that the five thousand were predominantly a Jewish audience, whereas the four thousand were likely Gentiles. God isn’t interested in merely saving the people of Israel. Rather, His goal has always been to seek and save the lost, both Jew and Gentile, both the churched and the unchurched.
 
Fourthly, when we go on MISSION with God, He supplies the MANNA! On the first occasion, after the people had eaten, the disciples collected twelve baskets of leftovers. On the second occasion, they collected seven baskets. What this suggests—as I found out in that Karen village decades ago and on many other occasions since—is that when we do God’s work in faith, God’s provides us more than is needed! As China Inland Mission founder Hudson Taylor famously said, “God's work done in God's way will never lack God’s supply.”
 
“Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness; my God, that is who You are!”