I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.

Mark 6:30-56 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) ³² And they went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

³³ The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “This place is secluded and it is already late; ³⁶ send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied; ⁴³ and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. ⁴⁴ There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

⁴⁵ And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He Himself dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after saying goodbye to them, He left for the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷ When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ Seeing them straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. ⁴⁹ But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; ⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, ⁵² for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

⁵³ When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ⁵⁵ and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶ And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being healed.

In John 10:10 Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”  In today’s text it says: They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied; and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.  That is the abundant life that Jesus gives us, that there is more leftover than what there was in the beginning. When Jesus provides, it is more than enough. When Jesus restores, it is not to what we were previously, but to what God intended.  In order to truly know and receive the abundance of Christ though, we must learn to trust and depend on Him. When we do things in our own strength, it is like trying to feed five thousand with a few small loaves. Jesus taught us to pray saying: Give us this day our daily bread. That is a reference to when the Israelites were in the wilderness and God provided manna for them each day. It was to teach them to trust and depend on God daily, to not lean on their own strength or resources. They had been in captivity for so long that they had learned to depend on their captors for their provision. We too can be enslaved to and by the things we depend on other than God. Trusting in God gives us freedom from bondage and an abundance of all that we need. Philippians 4:19 says:  God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Abundance does not mean that we have all that we want. It means that we have all that we need. God supplies an abundance of what we need, not for our greed. The psalmist says: Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.(Psalm 37:4-5) As we learn to trust in God, as we seek Him daily, we learn that He is all that we need. Philippians 4:11-13 says: I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Today’s text says: When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished… When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to wherever they heard He was. And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being healed.  Where Jesus is, the kingdom of heaven touches and impacts the earth. Storms are calmed in His presence. Diseases and disabilities are healed. What seems impossible is not only possible with Him, but it is available in abundance. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  If we trust in our own abilities and strength, even if they are great, we will not move any mountains. If we learn to trust in God, to depend solely on Him and His ability, if we have just a small amount of faith in the great big God of creation, we will find that nothing is impossible. We will know the abundance of Christ that comes when the kingdom of heaven is on earth.

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.