And Jesus took the [five] loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the [two small] fish, as much as they wanted (John 6:11).
THEME
STEWARDSHIP
"A small circle of usefulness is not to be despised," observed Hudson Taylor, the pioneer missionary to China.
When Jesus depicted usefulness, He often startled His listeners. He used a boy's picnic pak to make more than five thousand fish sandwiches for a supper on the grass. We know nothing about the boy except that he shared what he had.
In contrast, the disciples worried about how much it would cost for this unplanned shindig--eight months of salary. The crowd was not exactly a grateful group; Jesus was nothing more to them than a fish-in-every-pot politician. The disciples and crowd both missed the point; perhaps the boy understood. A barley loaf in Jesus' hand became life-giving bread because it pointed to the Bread of Life; only He could take the insignificant and make it important.
In the Old Testament, God did not give Israel water from the rock to promote the use of mineral water; He took common water and gave it uncommon symbolism. Every drop should have reminded Israel of the everlasting Water of Life.
To paraphrase Paul's words, we are nothing but old jelly jars; yet He takes what we have and who we are and reveals Himself through us (2 Co 4:7-12). When we are faithful in giving Him what we have, He increases our circle of usefulness. He takes all things great and small and makes them wise and wonderful.
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OCT 14
JOHN 6:1-14
"There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish" (John 6:9).
About halfway through a rehearsal conducted by Sir Michael Costa, with trumpets blaring, drums rolling, and violins singing their rich melody, the piccolo player muttered to himself, "What good am I doing? I might just as well not be playing. Nobody can hear me anyway." So he kept the instrument to his mouth, but he made no sound. Within moments, the conductor cried, "Stop! Stop! Where's the piccolo?" The most important person of all missed the piccolo's seemingly unimportant contribution.
At certain times in life we all feel insignificant and useless. Surrounded by people with greater talent than ours, we are tempted in our weak moments just to settle back and "let George do it." We reason that what we have to offer won't make much difference anyway. We forget that Jesus used five loaves and two small fish to feed a multitude. Like that young boy on the mountainside, each of us has something important to offer, and we are foolish to hold back because we discount the value of our contribution.
Whether our talent is great or small, the performance isn't complete until we do our best with what we have.
--R.W.D.
In God's eyes it is a great thing to do a little thing well.
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OCT 15
LUKE 19:11-27
"Because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities" (Luke 19:17).
One stormy night an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. The hotel was filled, but the clerk said, "I can't send a nice couple like you out in the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you be willing to sleep in my room?" The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted. The next morning when the man paid his bill, he said, "You're the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you." The clerk smiled, amused by the older man's joke. A few years passed and the clerk received a letter from the elderly man. He recalled that stormy night and asked the clerk to come to New York for a visit. A round-trip ticket was enclosed. When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street, where a magnificent new building stood. "That," explained the man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to manage." "You must be joking," said the clerk. "I most assuredly am not," he replied. "Who--who are you?" stammered the other. "My name is William Waldorf Astor." That hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria, and the young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt.
In heaven there will be "many mansions" to manage. So we should never underestimate the importance of what we are doing now for Jesus' sake, for He sees it all. Faithful service here on earth prepares us for great things in Glory.
--D.J.D.
God's requirement is faithfulness; our reward is fruitfulness.
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OCT 16
2 TIMOTHY 4:1-8
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, . . . fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5).
Sometimes we are not satisfied with the responsibilities God has given us, thinking we are fitted for a larger ministry. Looking enviously at the size or scope of another believer's calling, we think less of our own work and begin to neglect it.
In his book BE FAITHFUL, Warren W. Wiersbe told how C. H. Spurgeon, the famous Baptist preacher, handled that problem. "A young preacher once complained to Spurgeon that he did not have as big a church as he deserved. 'How many do you preach to?' Spurgeon asked. 'Oh, about a hundred,' the man replied. Solemnly, Spurgeon said, 'That will be enough to give account for on the day of judgment.'"
The truth of Spurgeon's statement is borne out in Paul's reminder to "fulfill your ministry." The apostle was telling his young friend in the faith to do all that God had called him to do. But this did not mean that Timothy was to do the same things as Paul. Nor did it mean that he would accomplish as much as the apostle would. Rather, it meant that whether Timothy's task was large or small, in the limelight or behind the scenes, he was to fulfill his ministry in a diligent and commendable manner.
--D.C.E.
We are to do what we can, where we are, with what we have.
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OCT 17
JOHN 6:1-12
"For who has despised the day of small things?" (Zechariah 4:10).
When a young boy offered his bread and two tiny fish to Jesus, the Lord blessed his small lunch and it became a bountiful provision for many hungry people. God does the same when we offer Him our insignificant actions. He takes what little we have and uses it mightily for His glory.
One night in London two Christian men were trying to decide whether to cancel a missionary society meeting because the weather was so bad. "Is it worthwhile to hold this service?" one man asked. "Perhaps not," the other answered, "but I don't like to shirk my responsibility. Besides, the meeting has been announced, and someone might come." So, as thunder rumbled and torrents of rain poured down, they started the service, even though only one person had showed up. A man who was walking past the brightly lighted chapel stepped inside to take refuge from the storm and doubled the size of the audience. As he sat down to dry off, he heard the speaker make a powerful plea for workers among the Indians in North America. After the service, one of the leaders remarked to the other, "Time thrown away tonight." But he was wrong. The passerby had heard God's call and yielded his life to Him. Within a month he had sold his business and was preparing himself to work among the Indians in British Columbia, where he would stay for thirty-five years.
The title of a gospel song is true: "Little Is Much When God Is In It." When we link our faith with God's omnipotence, we can expect results.
--P.R.V.
Don't despise little things; a lantern can do what the sun never can--shine at night.
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OCT 18
ROMANS 16:1-16
Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus (Romans 16:10).
Few have ever heard of Apelles or of the unnamed Christians in the house of Aristobulus. Yet these people were important enough to the growth of the church at Rome for Paul to mention them. This tells us that in the service of Christ, the efforts of the "little guys" are as important as the "all stars."
In a 1984 article for the DETROIT NEWS, Ernie Harwell, radio announcer for the Detroit Tigers, wrote, "When the Tigers got off to their roaring 35-5 start this season, the experts began writing and talking about the 1927 New York Yankees, a team rated by most as the outstanding aggregation in the history of baseball. Those Yankees were graced with bigger-than-life heroes. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earl Combs, Herb Pennock, and Waite Hoyt from that team are in baseball's Hall of Fame. But what about their teammates? What about Joe Giard, Mike Gazella, Ray Morehart, John Grabowski, and Pat Collins? Not only did they miss the Hall of Fame, they're not even household words." Harwell then commented, "We all remember the greats, but the little guys also have their roles. It might be the role of a utility man, a pinch hitter, or maybe even a substitute who is just a holler guy--the kind who keeps up the spirits on the team. . . . It also takes those little-known guys to win a pennant."
Although we may play only a minor role in our church, we must stay with it. Our contribution is vitally important to the church's spiritual success--even if we're not a Hall-of-Famer.
--D.C.E.
It is a great waste to do nothing because we think we can only do a little.
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OCT 19
PSALM 84
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness (Psalm 84:10).
Serving the Lord, even in some lowly way, is a great privilege. The writer of Psalm 84 was keenly aware of this. He was probably a Levite who normally performed duties at the temple. But at the time he wrote these words, he couldn't be there. Maybe he was sick; maybe he even had leprosy. Whatever the reason, he wanted to be at the temple so much that he envied the birds who lived there (v. 3). He thought of the pilgrims traveling to the temple for worship, praise, and fellowship. In poetic language he pictured them as finding bubbling springs in desert places (vv. 5-7). He prayed God's blessing on the king and then declared that he would rather serve in the humblest of all tasks at the house of God than to sit in the place of a chief person among the wicked (vv. 9-10). When he spoke of being a "doorkeeper," he used a term that probably referred to a person at the threshold of the temple assigned to pick up the refuse thrown away by careless people.
Through years of working with others in the Lord's service, I have come to appreciate deeply those who consider it a privilege to serve God no matter how unglamorous their task. If they have mechanical skills, they repair the church bus. Others go out of their way to give an elderly couple a ride to church. Some call on absentees. Others volunteer whenever work needs to be done. These dedicated people do these things willingly as to the Lord. They view lowly service as a high honor.
--H.V.L.
God often entrusts us with a little to see what we will do with a lot.
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OCT 20
1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-31
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased (1 Corinthians 12:18).
The name of the extinct dodo bird has long been used to speak of someone who is foolish, stupid, and worthless. Larger than a turkey, this ash-gray bird had a fat and lumpy fifty-pound body and a ridiculous tuft of curly feathers for a tail. Its stubby wings sported no more than three or four black feathers. It had a hooked beak, large legs, and heavy feet. The dodo lived in obscurity on three islands in the Indian Ocean until settlers came along and wiped out the defenseless creatures. These ugly birds seemed destined for ridicule. Their discoverer wrote of them in his journal, "We called these birds walghvogels [disgusting birds] for the reason that the more and longer they are cooked, the less soft and more unpalatable their flesh becomes."
But then came a surprising discovery. In 1977 scientists learned that the beautiful calvaria tree, which grows on the dodo's native island, depended on the bird for its survival. The tree's seeds had such thick hulls that they could sprout only after being run through the rigors of the dodo's digestive system. Just in the nick of time, some turkeys were imported to take the dodo's place and perpetuate the thirteen dying calvaria trees that remained.
In the church, as in nature, the Lord doesn't make worthless things. Every one of us is an important part of the body. Some of us might not look like much, but God has placed us "just as He pleased." Each has a purpose, and in Christ that purpose is eternal.
--M.R.D.II
Those who appear small in our sight are often giants in God's sight.
