When I hold a basketball in my hands, it’s merely a basketball, but when you place that same basketball in the hands of Michael Jordan, it turns into collegiate and professional championships. Put a golf club in any of our hands, and it’s merely a golf club, but when you place that same golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods, it turns him into the best golfer in the world. A paintbrush in my hands might result in a pretty good picture if it’s paint by numbers, but when a paintbrush was placed in the hands of Renoir, it turned into incredible works of art. A gun placed in the hands of a hunter is a tool used for sport or obtaining food, but when placed in the hands of a terrorist, that same gun becomes a weapon of destruction. How is it that the same instruments and the same tools can bring about such differing degrees of results? Quite simply, it depends upon who is holding them and how they’re being used.
This morning’s scripture passage is an excellent example of what can happen and how things can be used when we place them in the hands of God. The scene is a grassy meadow near Bethsaida Julias across the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum. Jesus has been preaching and healing the sick much of the day. He has retreated in order to get some rest and recharge his batteries, but when he looks up, the crowd has followed him. He turns to Philip, because this is Philip’s old stomping grounds, “Where can we buy bread for these people?” Somewhat quizzically, Philip replies, “Don’t you understand that it would take more than 6 months’ wages to buy bread for all these people.” He knew that Jesus was kind and thoughtful, but even for Jesus, this was out there. All of a sudden Andrew shows up, “Hey guys, there’s a little boy here who has 5 barley loaves and two fish.”
I’ve often wandered what it must’ve been like to be that little boy? When he got up that morning, he was probably planning to spend the day fishing or playing with his friends. As he’s on his way out the door, his mother hollers to him, “Did you pack a lunch?”
“Aaawww, Mom.” “Get back in here right now, young man. You know you can’t be out all day and not have anything with you to eat. You just sit right there while I make you some lunch.” She pulls out the little lunch basket, and prepares him a lunch of five loaves and two fish.
Now, these loaves of bread were not your top of the line sour dough loaves of bread. They were barley loaves, which was the cheapest of all breads; and his fish wasn’t salmon or tuna, it was pickled sardines. This kid leaves the house muttering to himself, because all his friends are going to make fun of him when they see that his mother made him bring his lunch.
On his way to meet his buddies, he sees this large crowd gathering, and he asks, “What’s going on?” “See that guy up there? That’s Jesus of Nazareth. He is an incredible teacher, and he can heal people. We all want to hear him preach and see him heal people.”
Intrigued, the young boy forgets about meeting up with his friends, and he begins to listen to Jesus preach. He becomes enthralled with his teachings about the kingdom of God and love and forgiveness, and he can hardly contain himself as Jesus makes the blind see and enables the lame to walk. He ends up spending the whole day listening to Jesus, and when Jesus retreats, he joins the crowd and follows him.
It’s getting late in the day, and as they stand in a large group in front of Jesus, the disciples start walking through the crowd. The boy feels a tug on his arm and turns around to hear Andrew ask him, “What is it that you have there?” “Oh, nothing.” “Come here, let me see,” and Andrew grabs the boy’s pail. After looking inside, he says, “Come with me.”
The little boy can hardly contain himself as he walks with Andrew to the very front of the crowd where Jesus is sitting. He’s excited yet shy as Andrew says, “Jesus, this young boy has 5 barley loaves and two fish.” The boy watches in amazement as Jesus takes his lunch- his stinky, old, unappreciated barley loaves and sardines- and turns it into lunch for 5,000 people. He can hardly wait to get home and tell his mother what happened.
What did happen? Besides it being a miracle, what’s the significance of Jesus taking 5 barley loaves and two fish and feeding 5,000 people? The significance is that it illustrates for us what can happen when we place ourselves in the hands of God.
First of all, don’t think what you have is insignificant or can’t be used! Too often we think, “I’m too young, there’s nothing God can do with me.” Wrong…you’d be amazed how many people have come to visit and join our church because a classmate at school or a seatmate on the bus invited them to Chestnut Grove, which introduced them to this church and a renewed relationship with God.
You also can’t say, “I’m too old.” Now I’m not going to divulge anyone’s age, but Allen Butler and Alyss Gentry aren’t teenagers, yet they stepped forward to say, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and I’m going to place my life in his hands.” You’re never to old to place it in God’s hands.
You also can’t say, “Well I don’t have anything to offer,” or “What I’ve got isn’t very much.” Baloney…as we considered the story of David last week, we saw that all he had was some courage combined with a sling and five smooth stones. You, too have something to offer. You may not think so, but you do.
This boy had a meager lunch…5 barley loaves and two sardines. That’s not even potluck material around here, yet he was willing to place it in the hands of God. He said, “Here, take it and use it.”
I remember when I was struggling with my call to ministry. Some of my thoughts were, “God, are you sure you mean me? Are you sure you didn’t miss the mark and intend to tap someone else on the shoulder?” The truth is, we all fall short of the glory of God, and we walk humbly by his grace, for God does not call those who feel equipped, he equips those He calls.
God didn’t expect that boy to have enough to feed the 5,000. He only expected the boy to place it in his hands, and leave the rest up to God. When we go to Brazil, God doesn’t expect us to solve all the problems in Coronel Vivida, but he does expects us to place ourselves in his hands, and leave the rest up to him. It’s like Greyhound says, “Leave the driving to us.” Place it in God’s hands and leave the rest up to Him.
This applies to all aspects of our lives. Not only does God want you to place your gifts and energy and talent in his hands, he wants you to place your pain as well. Many times we cling to our grief, we cling to our bitterness, and we cling to our anger in such a way that we cripple ourselves. Just as God wants to take the offering of our barley loaves and fish and multiply it, he also wants to take what’s eating away at our souls, robbing us of the joy in our lives, and do away with it; for much as when you place a basketball in the hands of Michael Jordan, it turns into “Ooh’s and aah’s,” when you place your life, including your pain, in the hands of God, he will also turn it into “ooh’s and aah’s.”
After you place it in the hands of God, expect something wonderful. When you give God your barley loaves and sardines, expect something wonderful. When you give God your pain, expect something wonderful.
There was an interesting cartoon that showed a fourth grade boy standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with his teacher. Behind them stares a blackboard covered with problems the boy hasn’t finished, and you hear the boy say to his teacher, “I’m not an underachiever, you’re an overexpecter!”
When you place it in God’s hands, expect incredible things to happen, but be careful that your expectations of God aren’t so narrow that you don’t see it. A speaker was addressing a large group, when he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black mark.” “Right,” he replied. “What else do you see?” Complete silence prevailed. “Don’t you see anything else?” he asked. A chorus of noes came from the audience. “I’m really surprised,” the speaker commented. “You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all—the sheet of paper.”
When you place your life in God’s hands, expect incredible things to happen, but don’t concentrate so narrowly on the black dot that you overlook the piece of paper. God can and will surprise you in the way he brings incredible blessings into your life.
When the Christ child was first born in the city of David, I don’t imagine anyone thought or expected to look for the Savior in a feeding trough. I don’t think anyone expected their Savior to be crucified on a cross. God has a way of bringing about incredible blessings and healings, if we would only place it in the hands of God. Do you remember Jesus’ words from the cross: “Father into your hands a commend my spirit.”
No one expected anything from those five barley loaves and two sardines, especially that little boy who begrudgingly left the house that morning with his lunch, but it just goes to show the incredible places of growth, healing, and nourishment that becomes ours when we place ourselves in the hands of God.
