John 6 – Paying the Bill

…it's always interesting to see what happens when the bill comes around.

John 6:1-71

Reference:  v.9  “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (NIV Bible)

Explore:  It's great going out for tea with other people, but it's always interesting to see what happens when the bill comes around.  There are some people who will immediately get their pocket calculators out and start to add up the exact amount they owe, even down to the cents.  On the other hand, there are some who make a general estimate and, after rounding up, just throw in a couple of notes to make sure that everything is covered.  This does not mean that the latter person has more money that the first, it's just that they don't hold so tightly to what they have.

Application:  I recently heard a sermon about this John 6 passage of Jesus feeding the 5000 people.  It was interesting to note that just because there was only one boy who came forward with some food, it didn't mean that there was no other food present.   If a young boy is carrying food then there was bound to be some others who had come prepared or had not eaten all they had brought.  It's hard to believe that out of a crowd of 5000 people that only a young boy had food – they're usually the ones who eat all their food first.  If we look at this story it does not mean that the boy was the only one who had food, it's just that he didn't hold so tightly to what he had.  This is a great challenge for us too.  I can sometimes be the person who holds so tightly to what I have.  And yet Jesus made an example out of the boy who was willing to give what he had away.

Prayer:  Lord, it's so easy to look at other people and see that they have so much more than us.  May we not hold so tightly to what we have but be generous with all that You have given to us.  Amen.

What are you holding tightly to?

John