He Had Compassion on Them

 

 Matthew 14:13-21

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

We all know what it is to be hungry, and we know that daily thousands  (millions?) go to bed underfed. The hungry, as with the poor, we'll always have with us. Not just an excuse for inaction, but a reality. Physical hunger can be addressed and many a soup kitchen can attest to this..Recently, startling facts are emerging about the amount of food wasted each day and new efforts to redistribute this unwanted food are being made. The compassion of Jesus lives yet today.  We need more of it!

What about our spiritual food?  Our prayer, our quiet reflection time..our encouraging of others to find time to BE with the Lord?  What can I do to better feed my soul and encourage others to feed theirs?

Bro. Rene.   

Dear God, you alone can satisfy my spiritual hunger. Feed me so that I can feed others..Amen.