The 5k

   Christ performed many miracles during his earthly ministry, and each one has a lesson in and of itself. I want to focus on one miracle in particular, the feeding of the five thousand. To begin with, Jesus had just been informed of John the baptist's death, who was Jesus's cousin. After hearing the news he sought to have some alone time to grieve. But as he sees the crowd of about five thousand men, not including women and children, he decides to serve and teach them. As the day nears its end the apostles tell Jesus that he should have them go home so that they can eat, but Jesus instead looks for a way to feed them all. The disciples realize the enormity of the task and respond to Jesus saying: "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" (Luke 6: 9) In response Jesus asks for the lads food. The lad, or young man, was the only one who had brought food, and he likely didn't have money to buy more. So, when he his asked to give up his food he could have easily given just a few loaves or a few fishes, but instead he gives all that he had. Not only that but he had no idea what was about to happen, he gave all he had with no expectations of getting anything in return. Then, Christ takes all that the boy had to offer and turns the five loafs and two fishes into enough food to feed more than five thousand people. Then afterwards "they gathered [the food] together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten." (Luke 6: 13) Although the lad did not expect anything in return he likely got to take home even more than what he had given.
   Often times God will ask the same of us, he will ask that we give up something, which could be a habit, a relationship, anything. But, He wants us to give it all up, not just a little, which is not an easy task, it takes great faith and sacrifice. I think the most important thing is that we need to be ready to give up anything at any moment. By doing this we don't become more attached to earthly cares and possession than to God. Just as with the lad we shouldn't expect anything in return. We need to have faith that things will work out but our main motivation shouldn't be the blessings or the reward we'll receive for being obedient. Being obedient is a reward itself and God will make sure everything works out. Even though it might not be evident at first, with time and patience comes understanding and clarity.