What's In Your Lunch?

Have you ever seen someone using their gifts and think, "Man, I wish I could do that!"? Like your friend who is an amazing cook or baker, or super athletic, or can organize like nobody's business? You see them in action and it moves you.  Inspires you. Makes you want to dig in deeper and be a better version of you; yeah, that kind of person. I am inspired by lots of those people too. However, there's a little guy in the Bible that inspires the daylights out of me. And I don't even know his name.

There's a story in the gospels about a certain crowd that is estimated to be in the tens of thousands who is hungry. I'm married with four kids, and I can attest to being intimidated by 5 hungry people. But if the 5 were tens of thousands looking to me to feed them? I might be tempted to toss a fistful of glitter in the air, squeak out a nervous "See ya!" and high tail it out of there. The funny thing is that Jesus wasn't flustered at all. His friends however, were.

This, my friends, this is where a big problem becomes the beginning of a miracle. Because in the crowd is a little boy who happens to have a small lunch with him (his Mom was probably a type A, but I digress) that consists of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Enough for a little guy- but not even a drop in the bucket for the sea of humanity surrounding him. Later on though, Jesus says this about the loaves and fishes..."Bring them here." I feel that same invitation is one that He gives us today.

What's in your "lunch"? In other words, what have you been gifted with? Now you might be thinking, "OK, I do have this little gift, but it's nothing like Johnny P's or Susie Q's." And I would agree; it's nothing like his or hers. Because it's YOURS. It's the only "you version" of that gift in this entire world, and that's what makes it special. Which may lead to you thinking, "True, but what difference can I make?" And I might agree on that count too- because you're only one person. But my dear one, there's the God factor.

That little boy's lunch was proportionate to his size, but not even close to the size of the crowd. However, when the God factor entered into the picture, when the boy was willing to give it, and when Jesus took it and blessed it and divided it, the bread kept coming. The fish kept coming. That little boy's eyes must have grown like saucers when he saw his lunch that once fit into a little basket be multiplied to fill a boat load of baskets, all because he was willing, and there was a God who was all powerful. If you choose to offer up your hospitality, or your influence, or your administration abilities to God, the ideas will keep coming. The opportunities will keep coming. The resources will keep coming.

If God could create something out of nothing, He can certainly create something out of something, no matter how small. In your hands, your talents have a limited potential. In God's hands, they have a limitless potential. 

There is no talent too small that it can't be multiplied in the hands of a miraculous God. The only variable there is will be what you decide to do when Jesus says to you, "Bring it here." 

So what's in your lunch? You've been given a gift from God. There are ingredients in your lunch that are unlike any in the world. No matter how raw, or small in your estimation, you have something to give, and it was given to you by God. Choose to see your gifts through God's eyes.  Choose to listen to His call when He says, "Bring it here." And may your eyes grow like saucers when you watch your lunch for one feed multitudes. The crowds are hungry. The Savior is waiting. It's your cue.