Giving Thanks

Mark 6:38-44

38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. 

This month we will, as a nation, give thanks. Celebrating by eating too much food, seeing too much family, watching too much football and, hopefully, having too much fun doing it! As we approach this day of thanks I thought we could reflect on a biblical model of giving thanks.

In Mark 6:30-44 we find Jesus inviting the disciples into a period and place of rest. However, the crowed followed them. Instead of getting frustrated, Jesus feels compassion for these folks. So much compassion He decides to feed them.

What is interesting is that the disciples focus on what they do not have by saying “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” In contrast, Jesus wants to focus on what they do have by saying, ““How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” The rest of the story can only be described as miraculous. The disciples come up with five loaves of bread and two fish to feed over 5,000 people. Being the healthy eater that I am, I would definitely look at this meager offering with despair. However, Jesus gives thanks to His heavenly Father for it then tells His disciples to feed the people. Amazingly, everyone gets their fill and they have twelve baskets of left overs (thus a biblical basis for having leftovers, I always knew my mom had a good reason for cooking too much, but I digress).

In a similar way we can often look at our meager resources and think, “This cannot be enough to satisfy the overwhelming need that is out there!” We see all of the starving children in the world on television, abused kids next door, and suffering all around and feel helpless to make a difference. However, our job is not to worry about what we do not have but what we do have. If we give our gifts, time, energy, and money into building the kingdom of God the Holy Spirit will multiply our efforts. 

So, as we celebrate Thanksgiving this year let's celebrate as Christians. Christians who are thankful for what we do have and not focused on what we do not have. Christians who surrender to the Lord what little, time, talent, energy, and money that we do have. Surrendering it trusting that, while we might plant and water, God will give the increase (1 Corinthians 3). Increasing His kingdom around us so that, in looking at the sea of human need, we might experience a miracle of our own!