Offer Your “Five Loaves and Two Fish,” and See the Result!

The miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish is recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:1-14). This event is so important because it is rich with lessons that can still be applied in this modern age. One of them is the lesson of giving.

Giving does not always have to involve material things (money or assets); it can also be our energy or skills. We may think we will give only once we are living in abundance. But in reality, when it comes to giving, we do not have to wait until we have “more.” So then, how do we give in the midst of limitations?

Giving, the Responsibility of Jesus’ Disciples

Toward evening, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a solitary place, and it is already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can buy food in the villages.” 

But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.”

They answered, “All we have here is five loaves and two fish.”

Jesus said, “Bring them here to Me.”

Then He told the crowds to sit down on the grass. And after taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus looked up to heaven and gave thanks, then broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples, and His disciples distributed them to the crowds. 

And they all ate and were satisfied. Then they gathered up the leftover pieces of bread, twelve baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

– Matthew 14:15-21

This event began when Jesus wanted to withdraw to a solitary place after hearing the news of John the Baptist’s death. Yet His followers, who were very numerous at that time, went after Jesus. Seeing this, His compassion was stirred. Jesus ministered to them, healed them, and taught them. And when the disciples asked Jesus to dismiss the crowd so they could buy food in the nearest village, His answer was, “You give them something to eat.” 

The responsibility to give rests on every disciple of Jesus. Through this miracle, Jesus wanted to teach His disciples how to give out of limitation. For example, a leader gives attention to the needs of the people he leads. A head of household gives love and provision to the members of the family. Giving your time or a listening ear to a friend who is struggling is also part of our effort to give.

“Five Loaves and Two Fish” Is Not About the Amount

Whatever you have right now—skills, education, talents, ideas—do you dare to surrender all of it to God so it can be used to help others? 

Perhaps you wonder how you can give when you have only a little. This sense of lack and uncertainty is what the disciples felt when they said, “We have only five loaves and two fish.” For example, if you are a prospective spiritual mentor, you may feel unworthy, incapable, or reluctant to take responsibility for the growth of someone else’s life.

Five loaves and two fish may seem like very little, but without the disciples surrendering them to Jesus, those people could not have eaten. If you are a head of household, what are your “five loaves and two fish”? It may be your hands and feet, which you use to work and provide for your family’s needs. If you are a worker, your “five loaves and two fish” are your mind and spirit, which are your capital for doing meaningful work.

If we love to give, we do not need to worry that we will be lacking. Was it not true that at the end of the story, those people ate until they were full and there were still twelve baskets of food left over? In the same way, when you share ideas or knowledge, for example, you do not need to fear running out of ideas or knowledge. In fact, by sharing, you will have even more. Why is that? 

The Lord Will Multiply It

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. – 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

From only five loaves and two fish, the Lord could feed five thousand people. Imagine what He can do with your “five loaves and two fish”—your talents, ideas, knowledge, energy, hard work—when they are surrendered to Him!

Do you believe that the Lord will multiply your “five loaves and two fish”? Are you living by faith, or only by what is visible? If your career has not yet reached success, will you become discouraged and lose faith? What if the brothers or sisters in the group you lead do not grow significantly? Will you then feel like a failure?

My brothers and sisters, when we give for the Lord, He is the One who will multiply it all. The most important thing is whether we have done our part, namely to give and to work as well as we can. If we have, then that multiplication is the Lord’s part. 

If at this moment we have not yet seen the fruit of our hard work, we should not feel like failures. Our reasoning is not able to fully grasp how God multiplies five loaves and two fish. Therefore, we should place our hope in the results of God’s work later, after we have given our best.

When you give out of limitation, God will take that limitation and create sufficiency for whatever or whoever you serve, whether family, work, or ministry. Bring your “five loaves and two fish” to the Lord and let Him multiply them. May your life be used for the glory of God. Amen!

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