Here’s a poem about being stewards and servants:
OPEN MY EYES
Lord open my
eyes so I can
see,
That all I have,
You’ve given me.
The job I go to
every day,
The car I take
along the way.
Friends of mine,
both far and
near,
My family that I
hold so dear.
My body, money
and my home,
All of these are
mine on loan.
You've given
them to me to
use,
But, they really
do belong to
You.
You give and I
receive,
Then I pass on
to others in
need.
July 7, 2001
Often we think
of our material
things as being
possessions.
They’re really
not, we are
merely stewards
over them, and
Jesus is the
true owner. All
that we have
belongs to Him.
My goal is to be
like the little
boy we see in
the Gospel of
John, Chapter 6.
Let me take you
to a day that
Jesus performed
the only miracle
that is reported
in all four
Gospels. It was
a beautiful day;
Jesus was on a
hill by the Sea
of Galilee near
Bethsaida. A
huge crowd
followed Him
because they had
witnessed many
of the healings
that He had
performed.
However, before
speaking to the
crowd, Jesus did
something
strange, He
retreated to the
mountain.
While on the
mountain with
His disciples
surrounding Him,
He asked Philip,
“Where shall we
get bread, that
these many
(referring to
the crowd) might
eat?” Jesus
asked Philip as
he was from
Bethsaida (about
9 miles away)
and if any of
the disciples
would know, it
would be him.
Jesus already
knew what He was
going to do, but
was testing
Philip to
strengthen his
faith. Philip
answered Jesus
saying “Two
hundred denarii
(pieces of
silver) isn’t
enough to buy
bread for each
person to get a
piece.”
Andrew, one of
the disciples
said to Jesus,
“There is a boy
here who has
five barley
loaves and two
small fish, but
what are they
among so many?”
Jesus
said “Have the
people sit
down”. He took
the bread, and
when He had
given thanks,
handed the bread
to the
disciples, and
the disciples
distributed it
to those sitting
down; and
likewise of the
fish, as much as
they wanted.
When they were
filled, He said
to His
disciples,
“Gather up the
fragments that
remain, so that
nothing is
lost.” The
disciples
gathered them up
and filled
twelve baskets
with the
fragments, which
were left over
by those who had
eaten.
I see several things going on here:
Jesus was teaching the disciples that financial resources are not the most important and human ways of thinking and doing only limits God. There is no limit to what God can do.
The disciples certainly had more resources than the boy did, but the disciples knew they didn’t have enough, so they didn’t give anything at all. The boy gave what little he had and it made all the difference.
Things have a certain value when they are in our hands, but once we give them to Jesus, they take on a different value. Even if what we have is small; Jesus can take it and turn it into something great.
Jesus prefers to work through people.
Jesus gave thanks for the food, but gave it to the disciples to distribute to the crowd. Jesus uses people that humble themselves to serve.
Jesus had
the
disciples
collect the
fragments so
that none
would be
wasted.
Jesus gives
in abundance
and He
values even
the broken
fragments.