"That nothing will be lost.”

John 6:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Today’s text records one of the great miracles of provision Jesus did while He was here on earth. It says:  Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.   When we read the accounts of the miracles of Jesus it is hard not to be filled with amazement and awe. Yet Jesus says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”   (John 14:12-14)   We are to do the things that Jesus did. Why is it then that we don’t see or experience miracles of provision such as the one recorded in today’s text? The accounts of scripture are to do more than cause us to be amazed. They are there so that we can learn and apply their lessons to our own lives.

What stood out to me when I read this account was not the amazing miracle of provision, the fact that so many were able to eat from so little. Rather it was what Jesus said after they had all eaten:   “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”    The text says:  They gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.    It is again amazing that what was leftover was more than what they began with. That’s how the abundance of God works. He takes the little we have to offer and if we give it to Him, He blesses it and multiplies it so that there is more than enough, even more left over than what we started with. If God supplies so much abundance, if there is more left than what we began with, why is it important that nothing will be lost?   Perhaps this is the part of the account we need to understand in order to see and do the miracles of Jesus. We need to so value the blessings and provision of God that even though there is an abundance, more than enough, we do not waste or squander any of it. We, in our society and in this nation and culture waste so much. Most people throw out more in a day’s time than many in third world cultures have. How much of what God has provided and blessed us with is lost? It’s not that we can practically take the excess from our tables to feed the poor in other countries. But our heart and so our mindset should be not to squander the blessing we have been given. It should be that nothing of God’s abundant provision would be lost.

In Luke 16:10-13 Jesus says:  “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”    We often hear these words concerning the love of money. But, we fail to see and hear the part of the application to today’s text. If we squander the things we have, even the natural  things we have from our own labors or things that have been given to us by others, how can we expect that that God would trust us with His abundance?  In truth, we sometimes get this whole concept wrong. We think that money and material blessings are something we should not want. But really, we should love money. We should love and treasure all that God has given and blessed us with. It is not that we should horde it or hold onto it. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells a parable of a rich man who had so much that he built bigger barns to hold all that he had. Then the rich man died and all that he had was lost to someone else. In verses 19-21 Jesus says:   “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”   We should love money and every other blessing and provision from God. We should love it so much that we want to give all that we have back to God so that there will be even more. But, we should also love and value all the blessings and provisions of God so that none would be lost. That is the heart of the Father toward us. 2 Peter 3:9 says:  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish (that none would be lost) but for all to come to repentance.

If we would do the things that Jesus did, we need to have the same heart as Him; that none would be lost. We need to value and treasure the things of God and the things He values and treasures. Our heart and our actions should be that nothing is lost; wasted or squandered and that no one is lost, but for all to come to repentance.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; may I do the things that You did Jesus. May I have the heart that You have. May I value and treasure all that You have given me and may I love all that You love. May I never be guilty of wasting the abundance of Your blessings, Your grace or Your love.   Amen.