32. So they departed to a
deserted place in the boat by themselves.
33. But the multitudes saw them
departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot
from all the cities. They arrived before them and came
together to Him.
34. And Jesus, when He came out,
saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion
for them, because they were like sheep not having a
shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.
35. When the day was now far
spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This
is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.
36. "Send them away, that they
may go into the surrounding country and villages and
buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to
eat.”
37. But He answered and said to
them, “You give them something to
eat.”
And they said to Him,
“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of
bread and give them something to eat?”
38. But He said to them,
“How many loaves do you have? Go and
see.”
And when they found out they
said, “Five, and two fish.”
39. Then He commanded them to
make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.
40. So they sat down in ranks,
in hundreds and in fifties.
41. And when He had taken the
five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven,
blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His
disciples to set before them; and the two fish He
divided among them all.
42. So they all ate and were
filled.
43. And they took up twelve
baskets full of fragments and of the fish.
44. Now those who had eaten the
loaves were about five thousand men.
Yesterday we began to
consider how God involves Himself in the course of
human events, especially when it comes to miracles.
Most people would say they have never seen a bona fide
miracle similar to the parting of the Red Sea, and
that may be proof that God either doesn't exist or no
longer dabbles in miracles.
Obviously miracles are not
normative, otherwise they would have to be called
"routines" or something. And I made the point
yesterday that even great miracles seem not to make
much of an impact on the human heart over time. But
let me submit a thought for your consideration, and
that is that God performs miracles every day through
the actions of you and me. Isn't that what He did in
this story? He saw a problem and began to dialogue
with His disciples. He challenged them to act in spite
of their meager abilities and resources. Then after He
prayed and broke the bread, He gave it to His
disciples for distribution. The miracle passed through
the hands of ordinary people for the nourishment of
others.
But because of Jesus'
resurrection He didn't have to stop performing
miracles after the crucifixion. I believe He continues
to choose to incorporate ordinary people in the
astounding unaccountable actions of His love that
permeate what otherwise would be a very miserable
place.
You are God's unexplainable
miracle in this world. The fact that He would use you
and me for anything of value is incredible. He doesn't
condemn you for your past but wants to restore you.
Where you and the world would choose shame and
condemnation, God chooses mercy. That's a miracle in
my book — and one uniquely designed to soften our
stony hearts.