Have you ever been asked to give everything that you have to help someone else? It’s a tough choice. On the one hand you think, “Well, what will I do if I give it all? How will I eat or live or pay my own bills, if I give all I have away?” But still, something inside you feels compelled to give. So, then you compromise. You think, “Well, I will give something. I’ll give more than usual—but, not all of it.” So you give what is a little uncomfortable and inconvenient for you, and you leave feeling justified—after all, you did give.

But, do you ever think about what really would have happened if you had given your all?

Maybe, you wouldn’t have gone hungry, lost your home or been forced to file bankruptcy. Maybe something else would have happened--something like what happened to the little boy in this story…

A huge crowd kept following him (Jesus) wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. (John 6:2, New Living Translation)

There was a little boy was in the crowd.

Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.  Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”(John 6:3-9, New Living Translation)

GET THIS…

• The little boy must have been sitting close enough to the disciples to hear Jesus ask the question. The little boy offered ALL of his food to Jesus.
• The child believed his offering was enough to meet the need, even though Jesus’ own disciples doubted.
• Philip recognized the problem, but thought he needed to work for the solution in his own strength. He said, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” 
• Andrew recognized that Jesus could do something, but thought the offering was too insignificant to make a difference. Andrew said, “What good is that with such a huge crowd.”
• But, the little child just believed.

You’ve probably heard the rest of this story. It ends like this…

“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. (John 6:10-13, New Living Translation)

So what lessons can we learn from this story…

• Come to God like a little child with pure motives and expect provision.
• Stop thinking and START BELIEVING!
• If you need a miracle, give your only and your all.