Before You Tell Jesus What You Don’t Have

By Pastor John Erickson

Someone will occasionally come to me with a wonderful idea for the church.

We should have a community garden. An after-school program. A ministry that meets this particular need.

I love those conversations. But I may not give the response the person is expecting. Sometimes I say that if God has put that burden on their heart, perhaps they are the person who should help take the next step.

There is usually a moment of adjustment.

The need was much easier to discuss when it belonged to somebody else.

I recognize that same moment in Mark 6, when the disciples tell Jesus that a large crowd needs to find something to eat.

They have already had a full day

Earlier in the chapter, Jesus sends the twelve out. They preach, confront evil, and minister to sick people. When they return, they report what they have done.

There is so much activity that they cannot even find time to eat. Jesus invites them away to rest.

That is worth noticing before we talk about service. He sees their limits. Rest is not treated as evidence of spiritual weakness.

But people see where they are going and arrive ahead of them. Jesus encounters the crowd with compassion, describing them as sheep without a shepherd, and begins teaching.

By the time the disciples raise the food problem, they have a perfectly reasonable assessment: it is late, the place is remote, and the people need dinner.

Send them away to buy food.

Then Jesus tells the disciples to give them something to eat.

A reasonable calculation is not the whole picture

The disciples respond by pointing to the cost. Feeding that many people would require an extraordinary amount of money.

They are not imagining the size of the problem. The need is genuinely beyond their available resources.

But Jesus is standing in the middle of the situation.

That is the part we can overlook too. We assess the need, inventory our abilities, identify the gap, and conclude that nothing can happen.

Sometimes an honest assessment will show that a particular project should not proceed. Faith does not eliminate budgets, safeguarding, preparation, or the wisdom to say no.

Yet this story challenges a different conclusion: that my inability to create the result means I have nothing to offer.

Jesus does not ask the disciples to become the source of the miracle. He invites them to participate in his work.

Find what is actually there

Jesus asks how many loaves they have and sends them to find out.

They return with five loaves and two fish.

It is not enough to explain the meal that follows. It is still what they can place before him.

There is an old joke about a pastor asking a farmer whether he would give God one farm if he had two. Of course. What about half a large sum of money? Gladly.

Then the pastor asks whether he would give one pig if he had two.

That is not fair, the farmer says. You know I have two pigs.

It is a joke, but it exposes a familiar habit. We can become wonderfully generous with the resources we do not possess.

If I had more time. If I had a different gift. If I had an income like that person. Then I would be ready.

Jesus' question is much closer: what is in your hands now?

The disciples carry what Jesus provides

The people sit down. Jesus gives thanks, breaks the bread, and gives it to the disciples to distribute.

He also divides the fish. Everybody eats and is satisfied, and the disciples gather the leftovers.

The miracle is his. The participation is theirs.

That is one of the details I love about the story. Jesus could meet the need without involving them. Instead, their hands become part of how his provision reaches people.

The same people who wanted to dismiss the crowd get to help feed it.

Serving does not make us the savior. It gives us the privilege of being useful to the Savior.

There is freedom in remembering the difference.

A burden can become a next step

What need do you keep noticing?

Perhaps you cannot solve it. Most important needs are bigger than one person's ability. But is there a responsible next step you can take?

You might listen to someone already doing the work. Join an existing ministry. Ask what help is actually wanted instead of assuming you know. Offer a skill, a little time, a meal, or a connection.

A small beginning is not a guarantee that God will turn every project into something enormous. The feeding of the crowd is a particular miracle, not a funding formula.

It does reveal the compassion of Jesus and his willingness to work through people whose resources are insufficient.

That gives us a different place to begin.

Before listing everything you lack, take an honest look at what you have. Bring it to him without pretending it is more impressive than it is.

Then stay close enough to participate in what he asks next.

You do not have to produce the miracle.

You may be asked to carry the bread.