Hope for Living: Boy willing to give all made lasting impact

0
908

In the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey discovers how one life touches so many.

In the Frank Capra film, George saved his brother, Harry, from drowning when he was but a child. Later Harry saves a ship of men during World War II who would have all perished. Funerals of husbands, sons, brothers and friends never took place because George had saved Harry.

There is an account in the Bible that I think on quite often. In John chapter 6,we find that a multitude of thousands had followed Jesus and the time had come to feed them. Philip expressed to the Lord that they didn’t have enough to even give the crowd a little. Philip instructs Jesus He should send them away. However, Andrew had discovered a boy in the crowd with his meager little lunch and brings him to Jesus.

“There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (John 6:9).

Jesus accepts the young man’s lunch, blesses it and begins to give it to his doubting disciples to distribute it to the massive crowd. At the end of the meal, when no one could eat anymore, there were 12 baskets of leftovers collected.

There is much to learn in this account. It was a wonderful miracle, there were no fragments left behind, and the disciples as well as the crowd were witnesses to the power of the Messiah.

However, what I often focus on is the willingness of that boy to give all he had and put it into the hands of the Master. He could have been selfish and ate it all himself, murmuring to himself about how unprepared the crowd was to not provide for themselves. Instead his willingness to give his best touched the lives of every man, woman and child in the crowd. Beyond the crowd, the lad is still touching lives today as you are reading about his act of faith and compassion.

May we be reminded to take what we have, as little as we think it might be, put it in the Master’s hands and watch the lives that will be touched. You see, you really have had a wonderful life.