An Assignment

by DanWolgemuth on June 6, 2008

Certainly somebody in the event planning department should have been thinking ahead. The crowds had started to become a part of the normal flow of the ministry of Christ, so when dinner time rolled around it would have seemed natural for the disciples to have a plan, but no plan was found.

The momentum of Jesus’ message had propelled the throng into stalking His every move, and yet He felt compassion for them. (Matthew 14:14) So when dinner time rolled around and the rumble of empty stomachs reached the platform, Jesus produced His plan. “You give them something to eat.”

Unfortunately, the disciples were looking for an exit strategy and not an act of kindness. They had done the math and they had calculated the logistical as well as the financial impact of hosting the throng. No way.

Like a flag on a windy day, the powerful lesson of Jesus was about to be unfurled. The assignments of Christ are always accompanied with the provision of God. We love, because He loved us first. We can do all things, because they are accomplished through Christ. We can forgive, because we have been forgiven.

With a clear assignment at hand, “You give them something to eat,” Jesus now gave them the means to produce,

“Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd.”

The assignments of Jesus were often daunting. The scale of the task, and the lack of resources would have been enough to make any one of us recoil, but Jesus always produces a solution for a problem He defines. From feed them, to heal them, to pray for them, to love them, He gives us enough wind to fill the sail of His design. Jesus made dinner. He acknowledged the need, He mobilized the resources, He enlisted support, and then He placed into the hands of His servants the means to accomplish the task.

Does He do less today?

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