“Jesus: The Reason We Say Yes” by Judy Webb
A little boy stood on a hillside with his one sack lunch in his hand. He was surrounded by men, women, and children, at least 5000 had gathered to listen to perhaps the greatest man ever born, speak of the greatest story ever told. He remembers leaving his house that morning. He heard rumors of the teacher, and where he was going. He joined the mass of bodies chasing down the one man that could bring them hope. Why his momma had the wisdom to pack his lunch no one really knows, but I can see her in my mind’s eye, tousling his hair as he walks out the door and placing a package in his hand. Don’t forget your lunch. How many mommas worldwide have called that same phrase out to their own sons and daughters… don’t forget your lunch. I also wonder, why momma wasn’t standing beside him on that hillside with her own lunch and all the supplies us mommas take when we are going to a day away from home. For whatever reason, we know there was a little guy that day who had gone a distance to see Jesus, and he had his lunch with him.
John 6:1-14 New King James Version (NKJV)
Feeding the Five Thousand
6 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
The people had gathered to be with Jesus because they knew that Jesus could heal their diseases. He could give them hope instead of despair. He spoke as one who had authority. He was wonderful. And so when it came down to the disciples looking in the crowd to see if anyone had any food to share it does not surprise me at all to know this little guy was willing to give his lunch to Jesus. He was hungry too, he
knew he only had that one sack, he knew he was a long way from home, but when Jesus needed his lunch, so he gave it. I can imagine that until the day he died he would tell the story to anyone who would listen. Jesus used my lunch. He used my lunch and with it, He provided a feast for thousands of people.
Last spring I was asked to speak at the Rivertree ladies’ retreat. My preparation for that event became a time of God laying on my heart His love and compassion for the ladies of my church. My love for them grew as God began to stir in my heart His desire to meet with us. He was calling me to teach them from His Word and to open up my heart and story to remind them of a God who chases them down and finds them. He was asking me to give my lunch in such a way that I felt vulnerable and exposed. I knew that if I stepped out I would come under greater spiritual attack. In fact, there are always a hundred reasons why we should not do the thing that seems risky. Jesus, how can I teach your word, who am I? I am not enough, I am too much. I might mess the whole thing up. I might say something stupid. There are so many reasons to not do the thing God is leading us to do. The little boy could have thought his lunch not enough… But there is Jesus.
Jesus is the one reason we say yes. We know that Jesus calls us to do hard things. I had not spoken at a retreat in many years. It was even longer since I had been in full-time ministry or even a lay leader in women’s ministry. My plate was full with my two sons and husband. When my friend Natalie asked me to speak at the retreat I said yes without even thinking. I will be honest, I love Jesus, and I know that when I take steps out in faith with Him that He always brings me to greater intimacy with him. When I trust Him with my walk, I walk more intimately with him. There is nothing I want more than to know Jesus. Stepping out to teach at the retreat was a great blessing to me. I offered to God my measly lunch and with it, He blessed the women who attended. He didn’t just use my offering either, everywhere I looked that weekend I saw women offering their hearts to each other, offering their stories, offering their prayer, offering their friendship. Everywhere I looked I saw lunches broken and multiplied.
Look around you dear sister. Jesus is calling you to give away your lunch. He is calling you to fight for someone in prayer, not because you are amazing, but because Jesus is amazing and He hears your prayers and intercedes before the Father. He is calling you to foster that child or to walk alongside someone who is. He is calling you to give financially to a new ministry, and in the giving, you will never regret a dollar lost for a life gained. Dear friend, Jesus is calling you to give away your story, your brokenhearted story to another dear one who needs to know she is not alone in her struggle, there is hope even in the valley of the shadow of death. He is calling you to bring correction to a friend who is considering trading in her marriage and family for a fling. Do hard things. Open your hands. Give Jesus your time, and even if it is a few minutes in car line let your sacrifice of praise be resonant in the heavens. You see, in the giving, in the doing of hard things, and the laying down of comfort, we find Jesus. We find that Jesus takes our offering and He multiplies it not just in others, but in our own hearts.
And dear one, can I beg you, implore you, to be brave. Know that Jesus, who calls you is sufficient for you. Know that Jesus will provide. Jesus will lead. Jesus will speak to you. Jesus loves you. He invites you into His miracle. He beckons you to come to be a part of His story of redemption. Let Him lead you.
On a hot day, on a crowded hillside, two thousand years ago, we see a boy smiling ear to ear, amazed that Jesus could use a lunch like his.
And today, in our own time, in our own city, we see a church willing to be brave, with a smile on her face, knowing that Jesus took her offering and changed the world.
~ About the author, Judy Webb ~
I am an average girl with an amazing God. I was never that brave, never really outgoing, and usually afraid of new situations. I would often try to hide who I really was in order to fit into a crowd. I was probably on a road that was going to look mundane and ordinary, but God had extraordinary plans for me. He rescued me from the monotony of existence without Him to a great joy and peace in Him. He set my life on a whirlwind adventure as a missionary in Korea and in Germany. I was given the great joy of sharing my life in Christ with teens on many continents. Today I am wife to Jeff, and mom to Zack and Caleb. When I am not playing with my boys or struggling through spelling words, I love to sit in a living room with a group of ladies and just dig into the Word together. I also love to write about the joy I have in Christ and the truth He teaches me. I am a member of Rivertree Church where I help lead ladies’ Bible Study.
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