"Are we to go and spend that much....?" Mark 6:37b
Recently, as I re-read the telling of Jesus feeding the 5,000, I read the phrase above and thought about this question in a way I never had before. The disciples wanted Jesus to send the crowds away so they could get something to eat, but Jesus said "you feed them." They noted that it would cost "8 months wages" to feed such a large crowd. The question they asked was not "where are we going to get that kind of money?" Rather, they asked "should we spend that much money on bread?"?" It strikes me that the question indicates that Jesus and his disciples MAY have had that much money... 8 months wages. It seems that the answer to their question is "no" as Jesus has them check to see what food is available among those present. He then takes their meager food supply and multiplies it a thousand fold.
How often do we see someone in need and decide that we can't help because it would "cost too much money" and we need our money for other things. Sometimes we genuinely don't have the financial resources available. Other times we don't see the need as being an appropriate way to spend the money we do have. Giving and serving go well beyond our financial resources and sometimes, even when we have the means to do so, spending money isn't the first and best choice for service.
Through the experience of feeding the 5,000, the disciples got their hands into the mix. They quite literally served the crowd. Have you ever known someone in need of bread? Did you pass that person by, toss a few coins his way or did you break a loaf of bread with her? Our resources are so much greater than the thickness of our wallet. If we think about it, even those who beg for money are really expressing a greater need... the need to feel human, loved, valued...
The next time the opportunity arises to give financially, ask if there are even greater ways that you can give of yourself. God wants you to give all of you and all you have in service to the people around you. That His Name may be glorified and His Kingdom grown.
