Thursday, September 3, 2015

Are You a “Can’t” Person or a “So Little” Person?

John 6:7-9 - Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

We all see problems. Not everyone sees solutions. Problems are real. Some problems are enormous and without clear ways to overcome them. Problems pervade every area of life. How do you react when you run into a problem? Some refuse to even consider a way out. Others see the reality of the problem and what little they have to respond but to offer it anyway.

John 6 describes a big problem. More than 5,000 people followed to listen to Jesus, and they were hungry. Two of Jesus’ disciples gave two responses to the problem. Neither would have earned an A on the exam of faith. Neither appeared to be a hero. There was only a slight difference between their responses, but that difference made all the difference.

Philip was the “Can’t” person. He saw only the problem with no possible solution. Are you ever like him when a big problem emerges? It is easy to fall into that trap, but that reaction never solves problems.

Where Philip said, “Can’t,” Andrew said, “Here is what we have, but it is so little.” It, too, paled by comparison to the magnitude of their problem, but he offered it to Jesus anyway. That “So Little” became the seed of the miracle of Jesus that impacted the most people in an immediately tangible way while he was here on earth. 5,000 people had a great lunch that day.

The next time you face a big problem, don’t immediately fall into the “Can’t” trap. Though you may only have a little, give it to Jesus, step out, take the risk, and you might see your own miracle happen.


No comments: