John 6
Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” John 6:5-7 NKJV
Philip’s response shows that he was being practical as he assessed the cost of trying to do what Jesus was asking. This led to him doubting that they could feed this many people with what little they had. His focus was only on what he could see in front of him, which limited his faith in God’s power and the unseen realm. Surely most of us would react the same way that Philip did. However, we need to be careful not to put a limit on what God can do by assuming that the cost is too high or that something is too hard to accomplish. Is there something that you feel like God is asking you to do for His Kingdom? Don’t be afraid to dream big and ask Him for His help! Give God your time and your talent and let Him do the work in you and through you. When you hear that voice telling you that something is impossible, instead listen for Jesus’ voice, which says, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Below is the true story of one of our friends, a retired teacher. Here is what she did with the “impossible” idea of one woman being able to make a difference in the lives of exploited women and children worldwide: God gave Cathey the random idea of organizing a hike that would raise awareness for human sex trafficking and oppressed women and children all over the world. Instead of letting the idea escape her, she started researching and developed a plan to put her idea into action. What transpired was the Freedom Climb, in which 48 women from seven different countries united in Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the world’s tallest free-standing mountain. Why Mt. Kilimanjaro? Its summit is Uhuru Peak. Uhuru means freedom in Swahili, so it was a fitting symbol for the goal of helping millions of enslaved women and children throughout the world achieve freedom. The story of so many women from different cultures and countries attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro together drew immediate interest and worldwide press. Support poured in to sponsor these women and their vision. On January 11, 2012, all 48 women began the climb in Tanzania. After 144 grueling hours, 90% of them made it to Uhuru Peak, setting two world records. The Freedom Climb 2012 raised over $325,000, launching programs to help sex trafficked and oppressed women and children in Argentina, Asia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Near East, Zambia, Balkans, Europe, Ghana, Middle East and Costa Rica. The far-reaching effects of the Freedom Climb surpassed everyone’s expectations! But it did not stop with the monumental hike up to Uhuru Peak. The Freedom Climb has launched multiple climbs all over the world since its beginning in 2012 and raised over $3 million!
So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. John 6:12-13 NKJV As the miraculous story of Jesus feeding the 5000 comes to an end, He teaches us that we should be careful not to waste what God has given to us. He created the Earth and all good things in it, for us to enjoy and care for. Our environment should be appreciated and treated with respect. Raising children is a difficult job, but it does help to remember that each one of them is a heavenly gift! “Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from Him” (Psalm 127:3). We need to care for them and raise them to know and love God above all else. We also need to be good stewards of our money. We should spend what we need to survive, save when we need to save, and give freely to others when we see people in need. If we are not wise with our money, one day we will be asked an uncomfortable question: “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11). The concept of stewardship is not limited to our finances. God has given each of us a unique set of spiritual gifts so that we can use them to serve others: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). What are your spiritual gifts? Are you using them to serve others and to bring glory to God? Maintaining an appreciative heart will help to keep you from wasting any of the blessings bestowed on you by your Heavenly Father.
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:60-69 NKJV There are many difficult concepts and teachings woven into the Bible. Many of God’s commands are counter-intuitive, counter-cultural, and are simply hard to follow. Often our flesh resists following what God requires of us, because following God’s ways requires sacrifice, change, and lots of humility. When we encounter a particularly hard teaching, there are three options we can choose:
1. We can follow what some of Jesus’ followers did and just give up because it is too hard.
2. We can ignore the commands we don’t like and just follow the ones we do, thereby following Christ half-heartedly.
3. We can accept the command as something that we know is good for us, and then pray for wisdom on how to practically apply it to our lives. Only when we approach the Bible this way, can our lives be truly blessed.
Hopefully we will all respond the way Peter did, and say what he did in verse 68: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”