See What you do have

February 4, 2019

 Scripture

 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

 (Mark 6:37,38 NIV)

 Go & See what you do have….

 A mining dam burst in Brazil and 200 are missing, water on First Nations reserves is still not potable, Venezuelans are starving in an oil rich country…. It gets all overwhelming. How to respond? If we pray maybe Jesus has the conversation with us that he had with his disciples when faced with a big human need.

 His ministry is thriving, thousands come for him to heal and teach and yet there are practical concerns. It’s late in the day and this impromptu rally of thousands needs to be sent away to the local town for a quick burger.

 That’s the disciples’ prayer – “O God, send them away and let them fend for themselves.” “You feed them” is his answer to their prayer. While they all do the cost/benefit analysis of the problem, Jesus tells them “Go and see” what you do have.

 Jesus didn’t want them to solve global hunger, just deal with what was right in front of them responsibly. In the face of overwhelming needs, we pray – and listen for Jesus’ voice saying, “Go and see what you have and do something, at least.”

 A Prayer for Today

 Loving God, your creation is broken in many ways and you call us to serve that brokenness. Don’t let me be dismissive of the needs which are right in my face and let me see what I can do regardless of whether it makes a big difference or not…. For Jesus’ sake.