January 22, 2007
Live on Loaves & Fishes
by Robin Day
Sometimes it feels daunting, even overwhelming to do anything in ministry. My husband, Clark and I have been working as missionaries in Spain for several years. During those years, we have frequently cried out to God to show us how to connect with the people He has sent us to reach. As a result of those prayers, God has taught us to approach our work based on the Loaves and Fish Principle that Jesus established during his earthly ministry.
The day Jesus fed over 5000 people with five loaves of bread and a couple of fish, it wasn’t Jesus’ idea to feed them, it was the disciples who saw the people’s hunger and they were the ones who asked Jesus to do something about it. I like how Jesus responded to them; he asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see”. In other words, you already have what you need feed these people, go and look at what you’ve got and bring it over here. When they did, Jesus took care of the rest.
Many of us see needs we’d like to meet, things that we want to do, but like the disciples, we focus on what we don’t have and give up before starting. I think Jesus is saying the same thing to us as he did to the disciples that day, “What do you have? Go and see.” Jesus used the loaves and fish to teach them, and to show us, that it didn’t matter if they had enough, it was more important that they start with what they did have. When they gave what they had, Jesus multiplied and used it to feed the hungry people around him.
People are hungry for God’s word. It’s evident that a spiritual hunger is awakening in people. Take a look at how many television programs, books and movies have spiritual or supernatural themes lately. We may not agree with their content, but I think we can all see that the age of reason is finally coming to a close and that a new spiritual hunger is dawning in the hearts of men and women around the world. Ideal circumstances should not be a prerequisite for us. Instead of waiting until we have everything we need before we begin feeding the spiritually hungry people around us, we need to start where we are, using what we already have and let God do the rest. Loaves and Fish.
How does the Loaves and Fish Principle play out in real life? Look at what you have and ask God how you can use it. For example, we have a computer and asked God how we could use it. We taught ourselves how to make web pages using the tutorial that came with the software. Since then, God has been using our ministry to establish an internet presence for other churches in Spain. My husband, Clark is now the webmaster for the Association of Evangelical Churches in our Province.
We use our computer to design and distribute culturally relevant Christian literature. Working together with another missionary, we put together a Christian music CD, the first of its kind coming from this area of Spain. This resulted in a Christian music concert with a record number of people attending in our city. Now Clark and I are involved in a Christian television project. These things didn’t come about because we are terribly gifted or somehow more skilled than anyone else; actually, quite the opposite is true. But what is equally true is that we gave God what we had and He multiplied it. Even if we had had the highest levels of training and the most sophisticated equipment God did more than we ever could have done on our own.
Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Do you love me? Then feed my sheep.” How do we feed them? The answer is simple: Loaves and Fish. Start where you are. Use what you already have. Forget about what you don’t have and let God do the rest. This is how Clark and I do our ministry in Spain; it’s how we live our lives. We call it living on bread and fish. We thank God for what we have, give it to Him to use and trust Him to turn it into what is needed. Anyone can do that.
Bible references: NIV Mark 6:30-44; John 21:17
