All You Can Eat

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very Tuesday morning, I would meet my best friend and we would go out to eat lunch.  Now, It goes without saying that a prerequisite for being in ministry is the ability to eat often and to eat a lot.  Since both of us wanted to be good ministers and good stewards of what God has given us, we took advantage of several all-you-can-eat buffets that are prevalent in Fort Worth.  We visited everything from Chinese buffets, to Japanese buffets, to soup and salad buffets.  In fact, if there was a buffet restaurant in town, chances are we visited it. 

The idea of an all-you-can-eat buffet seems strange to those visiting our country, but to Americans it's one of those basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution.  At least it seems that way when you watch the people who visit these establishments.  Hey, I'm pointing the finger at myself as well, because I definitely get my money's worth.  In fact, my ideal situation would be for the manager to ask me to leave his restaurant!!  This is one goal I have and perhaps one day I'll realize it.

My point today is that we spend an enormous amount of time feeding our bodies but precious little time feeding our souls.  We believe that if we spend thirty minutes praying with God, or if we read our Bibles for a set period of time, that we have sufficiently fed upon Him and His word.  But it isn't long before we find ourselves hungry again.  Chinese food has this affect on me.  No matter how much I eat, my hunger returns within a few hours and I feel as if I've eaten nothing.

The sixth chapter of John's gospel relates a familiar story to us.  It's about the largest meal ever prepared and served by one person.  Yet the feeding of the five thousand has so much more to teach us than at first appears. Notice in verses 5-7 how impossible the situation looks.  The crowd is huge and Jesus asks Philip what he plans to feed the people.  Philip just drops his jaw and states the obvious "eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite" (verse 7). From a human standpoint, the situation is impossible.  We are always in a position of weakness and inadequacy. God never assigns us tasks we can achieve in our own strength.  Instead, He makes sure the situation will require us to lean on Him.

Verses 8-9 tell of the little boy with the five loaves and two fishes.  Again, the resources are inadequate to meet the demands of the situation.  But Andrew brings the little boy and his lunch to Jesus.  This is exactly what we must do.  Our resources are finite, God's resources are infinite.  What looks like nothing to us, in His hands is everything.  When we relinquish our hold on what we have and give it to Christ, He then takes our impotent efforts and works miracles with them.

Notice the words of verse 11b "...and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted." Talk about your all-you-can-eat buffet!  This is always the way God works.  He not only meets our needs, He surpasses them.  That day, from a paltry meal, barely large enough for a small boy, Jesus fed five thousand men, not including women and children.  But He didn't give them just a taste, He gave them as much as they wanted.  God always intends to meet our needs to the fullest extent.  The people eating that day had their fill.  If anyone went away hungry, it was their own fault. 

The spiritual application for us today is just as real.  Jesus spoke of Himself as the bread of life, and stated that whoever ate of that bread would never hunger again.  When was the last time you let God feed you?  Were you willing to accept all He offered you to eat or did you settle for the bread crumbs?  God has prepared a buffet for us with all the trimmings.  He bids us come to His table and to eat all that we want.  His serves only the finest and choicest of foods that will nourish mind, body, and soul.  Prime rib is on the table as well as filet mignon.  Please don't ask or settle for a bologna sandwich!!