Matthew 14:17-21 NIV

¹⁷"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.

¹⁸"Bring them here to me," he said.

¹⁹And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

²⁰They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

²¹The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

This was the topic of the sermon at church yesterday. I am still awed by this story. 5,000 people fed with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish.

I want to be like this. I want to give so freely to so many with the little I have. I try to remind myself that the little we have can mean the world to others. I want to be able to be this way always.

It can be so hard though sometimes. Like when the offering plate comes on Sunday I sometimes just want to put a few dollars instead of the amount we give. This week was one of those weeks. I knew how many bills I had to pay this morning and that I still had to do the grocery shopping for the week, not to mention gas is going up again and we have two big vehicles to fill up. It would be so easy just to skimp a little bit at church and make all those payments with no (well maybe less) worries then till the next payday. Then guilt hits me. How will the church pay its bills if I skimp out on her? How can they keep helping the needy if I don't give my share? How can they keep the candles in the sanctuary, or food in the pantry, or lights in the bathroom, or water for the plants?

This is my way of helping Jesus fill the basket with fishes and bread for the hungry. I may not be able to feed thousands but I can help feed one.

I may not be a person of great monetary wealth but I do have blessings beyond my wildest dreams. Hopefully I can share them in some small way to make the world better.