Read John 6:1-15, 27-40
The enormity of this miracle is almost lost on me because I can’t recall a personal experience of such a large gathering.
Entering into the story
The place where I can enter into this story is smaller. I identify with the boy. He handed his lunch to Jesus only to watch Jesus do better and bigger things than he could have imagined. The boy gave Jesus bread, but Jesus showed everyone that He was the Bread of Life. The bread and fish satisfied many hungry bellies that day and Jesus satisfied many hungry souls.
In 2019, I welcomed my first daughter through foster care into my family. In some ways, I feel like the boy. It was like I heard Jesus asking, “Where are we going to find enough homes for children who need a family?” I didn’t have enough to “feed five thousand,” but I handed Jesus what I had and now I am watching Jesus do something better and bigger than I imagined. Our church family reminds me of the disciples in this story. Just like Jesus handed out the bread to five thousand through his disciples, Jesus has been handing himself out through and to the men and women and boys and girls of our church as they serve in response to the foster care crisis. Jesus satisfies the one who gives and the one who receives.
Our need for Bread
As I pray for children in foster care and the precious families they represent, I choose to believe this for them, too. There is no participant in a foster care story that is out of reach of the grace of God. We are all alike in our need for this Bread.
When I start with the small, I can then begin to grasp a little bit of the enormity of the truth that the Bread of life is for everyone. No one goes away hungry. Jesus is satisfaction for every hungry soul.
Written by Lianna Sours
Artwork by Rebekah Steele, Bread of Life
