A Kingdom Perspective

But he answered, "You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man'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.”

When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish.” (Mark 6:37-38, NIV)

It is easy to judge the 12 disciples when we read this story because we know how it will end. But imagine that you are in New Orleans the day after the hurricane. You are sheltering 5,000 people in your church and all you have is one loaf of Wonder Bread and an Oscar Meyer package with 12 slices of turkey. I come to you and tell you to feed everyone. I dare say you would call me a lunatic.

I am very hesitant to ever say that God has told me to do something. But when I returned from the Czech Republic in June, I believed God was asking our church to help the Trinec Church with the purchase of a building they could use for services and outreach. I knew if this was from God, then he would reveal his desire to others. I presented the need to the Project CR Team, the Missions Committee, and finally to the Elders. While there were reasonable concerns and questions, there was almost unanimous agreement that God was leading us to assist the Trinec Church.

It was a step of faith to ask you as a church to donate $30,000 towards this project. And as a church, you have overwhelmingly responded. We have received more than $30,000 towards our goal. No more donations are needed. We have “12 baskets full” left over, a testimony of your generosity and God’s faithfulness.

The point of the miracle is simple. The question is not “How much do we have to give?” The question is “What is God asking us to do?”