You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37). It’s easy to miss those words from
Jesus. A huge crowd had gathered to hear Him. Late in the day, the disciples
got nervous and started pressing Him to send them away (v.36). “You give them
something to eat,” Jesus replied (v.37).
Why would He say that? John 6:6 says He was testing them. Did He
want to see if they would trust Him to perform a miracle? Maybe, but it seems
more likely He wanted His disciples involved in caring for the crowd, to be
hands-on in working with and for Him. He then blessed what they brought to
Him—five loaves of bread and two fish—and performed the miracle of the feeding
of the 5,000.
I think Jesus uses those words with us too. A need pre-sents itself in
the lives of those around us, and we bring it to Jesus in prayer. “You do
something,” Jesus often says. “But, Lord,” we object, “we don’t have enough
time or money or energy.” We’re wrong, of course. When Jesus asks us to get
involved, He already knows how He will accomplish His work through us.
What we need is faith and vision—the ability to see that God wants us to
be His instruments, and that He will supply what we need.
When God says do it, He’s already planned the resources we need to accomplish the task. (RBC)
