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When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

 “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew 14:13-18

This passage reflects so much of God’s nature and his attitude towards people…

God always has time for you. First off, Jesus was in desperate need of getting away from the crowds. He needed time for himself, as we all do sometimes. Mark’s gospel tells us he and his disciples had not even had time to eat because of the demands of the people surrounding them, and they had just received the news that John the Baptist had been killed. Jesus wanted (and needed) some space and solitude. He wanted to get away from the crowds, but the crowds followed him. He sees this massive crowd waiting when he had purposefully gone away to rest. But his love for others outweighs his personal needs and desires. He is sacrificial in his love. He doesn’t turn the crowd away, or get back in the boat and go somewhere else - he has compassion. He heals, he teaches, he loves. 

And then - when he had evidently spent hours giving his time and love to this crowd he refuses to turn them away when the disciples suggest it. Instead, he provides for their needs yet again.

God cares about your physical and practical needs, as well as your spiritual needs. There is sometimes this idea that God is just concerned with your spiritual life. God cares about how much you pray or read the Bible or do good works but not so much about how you do on a test, your ‘secular’ job, or the ‘little things’ in life. That’s so far from the truth! God cares about you as a person, and every ‘little’ detail in your life. He willingly provides for all your needs. Jesus demonstrates his concern for the physical here by healing the sick and providing food.

God turns small things into massive blessings. You may think you don’t have much to offer. That’s what the disciples thought. “We only have a bit of bread and fish - how can we possibly feed thousands?!”. But what seems impossible with man is possible with God. Give the little you have got and God will use you in ways you can’t even imagine. 

God is generous! He gives the best, and he gives lavishly. He doesn’t just give the people enough food to just about sustain them, he gives them plenty, he gives more than they need… there is an abundance of blessing. 

I’m so thankful that our God is so rich in grace and love.

Posted 4 months ago with 2 notes
Tags: Jesus  love  Bible  Scripture  truth  God