The Abundance of the Lord
Matthew 14:20-21: "And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were five thousand men, besides women and children."
Remember the disciples' words from yesterday: "We have only five loaves here and two fish." Jesus instructed the disciples to feed the crowds. They looked upon the people and saw the impossible. A mere pinch of bread and a morsel of fish could not feed the multitudes. Today we learn that the multitudes were thousands of people -- five thousand men plus all the women and children.
Jesus multiplied the bread and the fish, fed all the people until they were satisfied, and then the disciples gathered up the leftovers. From five loaves and two fish there were 12 baskets of leftovers. Jesus didn't just meet the needs of the people. Jesus met the needs in abundance!
We see two mindsets in this text. There is the worldly mindset of the disciples that is characterized by scarcity. In contrast, there is the Kingdom mindset of Jesus that is characterized by abundance. Which one characterizes your life and your faith?
In the world today, we see the impossible -- the impossibility of a true cure for Covid-19, the impossibility of racial reconciliation, and the impossibility of Republicans and Democrats uniting to work for the good of our country. Where we see impossibility and scarcity, the Lord sees opportunity and abundance.
May the Lord open our eyes to his abundant power that can work in us and through us. May the Lord open our eyes to see his Kingdom on this earth and our calling to build that Kingdom faithfully. May we stop lamenting the impossible and ask God to work his miraculous power here today.
Lord, we ask for the healing of our land. We ask that you would give us your abundant Kingdom mindset knowing that nothing is impossible for you!
Remember the disciples' words from yesterday: "We have only five loaves here and two fish." Jesus instructed the disciples to feed the crowds. They looked upon the people and saw the impossible. A mere pinch of bread and a morsel of fish could not feed the multitudes. Today we learn that the multitudes were thousands of people -- five thousand men plus all the women and children.
Jesus multiplied the bread and the fish, fed all the people until they were satisfied, and then the disciples gathered up the leftovers. From five loaves and two fish there were 12 baskets of leftovers. Jesus didn't just meet the needs of the people. Jesus met the needs in abundance!
We see two mindsets in this text. There is the worldly mindset of the disciples that is characterized by scarcity. In contrast, there is the Kingdom mindset of Jesus that is characterized by abundance. Which one characterizes your life and your faith?
In the world today, we see the impossible -- the impossibility of a true cure for Covid-19, the impossibility of racial reconciliation, and the impossibility of Republicans and Democrats uniting to work for the good of our country. Where we see impossibility and scarcity, the Lord sees opportunity and abundance.
May the Lord open our eyes to his abundant power that can work in us and through us. May the Lord open our eyes to see his Kingdom on this earth and our calling to build that Kingdom faithfully. May we stop lamenting the impossible and ask God to work his miraculous power here today.
Lord, we ask for the healing of our land. We ask that you would give us your abundant Kingdom mindset knowing that nothing is impossible for you!
No Comments