This month, our meditation has been excerpted from the book entitled, Bound to Be Free compiled by Jan Pit. In the following short quotation from the heart of Yang Zhang (A fiery evangelist from China - writing under a pseudonym for his protection), there is fodder for reflection and perhaps application:
Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many? (John 6:9)
This wonderful miracle tells us that God can do much with little.
If we give Him what we have, He can perform miracles. The boy could have kept the little that he had. But he gave it to Jesus. That act of obedience fed 5,000 people.
We never need to complain about the little that we have. Our Lord can use it and feed the people around us.
A Chinese friend told me one day: 'Our eyes, nose, ears, mouth and heart are like five loaves. Our two hands are like two fishes. And with our two legs we go and meet the needs of people around us.'
Let us give our body and our heart into the hands of the Lord and thus become an instrument in God's service, saving many hungry people.
A moment of introspection: Have we ever thought, that in surrendering all to Jesus, we partake in a divine miracle? Have we ever looked in a mirror and said a quiet prayer of thanks to God for the gift He has offered through us this day? What gift can we offer to others, considering our very least (in effect) being to offer our selves to Him for His use?
But we surrender all, and leave it to God to produce the miracle with that which is ceded. As brother Zhang stated, the boy in the parable could have kept what little he had. Yet he gave all he had to Jesus, and the result fed 5,000 people, in the Master's hands. This account reminds me of what God is able to do with the little we have, if we offer it to Him: Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us..." We do not know to what use our gifts to Him will be put, yet we offer to Jesus what we can: our all--according to the power at work within us. With that, God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul had a good sense of the miracle that each of us can be in God's kingdom. Through our surrender, Christ performs miracles and glorifies God through us. Ephesians 3:21 : "to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Indeed, our total surrender does give God glory, just as we are exhorted in 1 Corinthians 10:31 "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
If we surrender all, our gift entails more than merely our possessions, whether they be many or few. Brother Zhang describes a total gift involving our senses, our lifeblood, our communication, our deeds, our motions, our comings/goings, our ideas, our emotions, our desires, our relations with others, etc. God wants all of each of us--our first fruits--not merely the left-overs of a too-busy lifestyle. The writer of Proverbs agrees, as he wrote "Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce" (Proverbs 3:9). When we arise each morning, offer our day to God. When we consider the distribution of our income, give to God first. When we look for something to do during our leisure, consider using our legs to "go and meet the needs of people around us." When we consider sitting down to read a book, open first the "good Book". When we take time to read the Bible, let us give God our best offering and study (versus read) God's Word. Do we fill our world with entertainment and merriment? Consider what miracle waits unperformed. "All to Jesus I surrender; all to him I freely give, I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live."
In God's presence, we "'...live and move and have our being', as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.'" (Acts 17:28) As God's offspring, "we never need to complain about what little we have. Our Lord can use it and feed the people around us." Let us consider the significance of a surrendered life. In this life, we permit God to use us to His purposes. If we give God what we have, He can perform miracles. We become vessels through which God works blessings to others. We hold our lights, our gifts, to point those who are lost, to the foot of the cross and thence to the arms of a forgiving and redeeming Christ. We utter words of encouragement, and speak the words of Life which God instills in us. We allow ourselves to be used by the sovereign ruler of all, trusting and obeying, glorifying and honoring, seeking above all else, to do His perfect will. May the name of Lord of life be exalted, and His miracles be performed through us as part of His surrendered church. To this end, we glorify God forever and ever. Amen!