Feeding the Summertime Food Shortage
“You give them something to eat,” Jesus said.
He no doubt was encouraged by his followers’ concern for the people who had assembled to hear the message from the Master. The compassion they were showing stemmed from the compassion that he himself had shown for these souls ever since they had begun to follow him. His disciples were beginning to reflect his heart, but they struggled to comprehend his faith. They were always overtaken with a sense of wonder, sometimes even overpowering them and leaving them speechless—they could only worship. Other times – the majority of the time – they accepted the fact that Jesus could do miracles, but failed to realize that he was “God with them.” They were yet to fully realize that he had come to open the door to the Father, to perfectly reveal His character, and to empower those who would believe. “You give them something to eat.” Jesus was not teasing them—“I’ll prove you can’t do anything without me!” Rather, he was calling them to deeper faith in what would be possible because he had come. Now that the kingdom had come and the Spirit of the Father would dwell with those who trusted in the Son, nothing would prevent disciples from accomplishing anything that lay within the will of the Father. Those who come to Jesus in faith would no longer be confined by the corruption of the fallen nature (John 8:34-36) and the limiting rules of the universe (Matthew 17:20-21). Trust now leads straight to kingdom victories.
“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
‘Bring them here to me…’”
It is not what we bring so much as to whom we bring it. Faith connects compassion to God’s multiplying power. Jesus wants us to believe that the impossible is possible. God wants to know that we believe in his limitless ability. “You give them something to eat,” was a challenge to his followers to embrace what was humanly impossible and participate in that which Christ makes possible.
This has been the intent of our Doing Good in The Neighborhood Projects. It has not been about what we bring, but to whom we bring it. Every donation is a gift to God. Every effort is a step of faith that says, “All I bring is five dollars and two Wal-Mart purchases, but I know that God will accomplish with my gift what would be humanly impossible.” We trust that the Lord will multiply. We believe that he will change hearts, heal lives, call souls, and show his glory through every snack, can of soup, or car seat that is given.
When it comes to donations, the summer months are among the leanest for the food bank. There are thousands who are in need of assistance just when many of us are immersed in summer recreation and travel. But those who belong to Jesus share in his heart. Compassion doesn’t take a vacation, and times of greatest need provide great opportunities for Christ to work through his disciples. How can the contributions of so few faithfully address the needs of so many? Will our offering, no matter how committed, even make a dent in the need? Again, we are thankful that we serve a God who multiplies that which we bring to him. We simply cooperate in faith and stand back with the rest of creation and applaud the amazing workings of God.
We collected food from May 11 through June 14. Each week we gathered a different item. Week one was peanut butter. Over 125 jars were donated. It was inspiring to think that after just our first week of the drive over three thousand children would be able to eat a peanut butter sandwich. Next on the list were boxes of macaroni and cheese—we gave 291 boxes. Again, hundreds of families would be able to feed themselves from what the Lord had provided. The weeks that followed brought jars of spaghetti sauce (56) and boxes of pasta (84), canned soups (63), and canned meats (53+ [see article: 2000lbs.]). After the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia picked up the donations at the church building the morning of June 27, they reported that a total of 3162 pounds of food had been donated by the Bayside congregation. Praise God!
For weeks we carried small bags of groceries into the church foyer. Driven by compassion, we offered our gifts in faith that God would take it and multiply its blessing far beyond what we individually were able to offer. Our great God has done just that. Some of the evidence can be measured in pounds and pallets. However, there is a goodness that transcends our vision. That is where our ongoing faith comes in. Remember to pray that God will draw people into the kingdom and further reveal his immense love for all through the food we were able to give.
Ministry News
Project Wrap-up
Our Faith in Action project day that was held on September 27th was a great success. Well over a hundred members gathered to be part of five projects intended to address the needs of those in our immediate and global community….
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