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 6:8-9
When I read these verses here in John 6, I think of every Christian everywhere. Why? Because we dabble. We sorta think something big and good. We get this spark that is daring and bold. Then, like a sudden shift in the wind, we take it back so much so that the Spirit around us seems to collapse upon himself.
This is what is happening here with Andrew. To the situation at hand, which is the feeding of 5,000, he shares, “Hey! I know! Here’s this kid with some lunch. It’s not a great lunch, but still...it’s lunch.” Before he asks anyone what they think of this, he does what every Christian has done. He shoots down his own idea. It is the Good Lord who gives and takes away, not us.
In effect, Andrew is saying, “God is good. But God isn’t good enough.
THIS is exactly what this abundant feeding miracle is all about: God’s endless, incredible, joyful, never-going-to-stop abundance. God doesn’t just bless. God blows His blessings into a whole other realm, a whole other (greater) league. He uses this delightful, strong-willed, visionary boy to show us what He does, which is make so little so much.
Like most (all?) of you, I have firsthand experience of what happens when Jesus steps in to care for those who follow Him, who get excited through Him, and see a far better and brighter world around us because of Him.
And um, yes, none of this involves dabbling. Instead, it means full-on, joy-filled, take-it-all dear Lord commitment.
PRAYER: Dear God who multiplies, change our prayers when we begin to sound like Andrew. Help us take out the word ‘but’ in the question, “But what good is that with this huge crowd?” Help us pray, “What good is _______ (fill-in) with this huge crowd?” Then, with expectancy, keep us still and focused as we wait for Your jubilant answer. Amen.