Luke 9:16 (NIV) Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.

The disciples were about to learn some new things from Jesus when they were faced with a large crowd that was listening to Jesus teach. When He finished teaching them, they suggested that Jesus send the people away to find food for themselves, but Jesus shocked them by telling them to give all of those people something to eat. As they wondered about this impossible task, they replied that they only had five loaves of bread and two fish among them. That’s when Jesus did it again...the impossible. He gave the disciples instructions on how to organize the people into smaller groups and then He gave thanks and began breaking the bread and fish into pieces. Then He gave them the pieces to give to all the people.

As it turned out, when Jesus told the disciples to give the people something to eat, what He meant was that they should give the people food to eat that He was going to provide. Jesus knew full well that it was impossible for the disciples to provide food for all those people, but He also knew that it was fully possible for Him to do it. But His plan was to do what only He can do, which was to multiply the little amount that was available and make it more than enough for everyone, and then have the disciples do what He had told them to do, which was to give the people something to eat. What He was doing was inviting the disciples to experience and participate in the miracle and He invites us to do the same today.

Jesus wants us to bless others. That’s clear from all the counsel of His Word. But being so needy ourselves, how could we possibly be of any good to anyone else? In the same way that He multiplied the food and gave it to the disciples to distribute, so He multiplies our blessings so that we will have more than enough to bless others with. God always blesses so that His blessings can be paid forward so that everyone can see and experience His glory and know how good He is. He never blesses you just for you to stay blessed because that would promote selfishness. He blesses you so that you can bless others. But know that in the process of you making yourself available to Jesus as the disciples made themselves available to Him, you will be able to enjoy not only multiplied blessings but will also have the joyful and amazing experience of being a conduit of the love and blessing of God to others. Remember that after the disciples blessed the people with all that food, they collected twelve basketfuls of leftover bread and fish, which was a lot more than they needed for themselves. With God, everyone wins and everyone is blessed. Allow God to use you for His glory. Begin with the little you have now. Place it in His miraculous hands and then watch as the Lord multiplies it and uses it to bless others while He blesses you!

Pastor Joey Vazquez