![]() It is easy to be thankful when things are going well, when we have enough food to eat, a lot of friends around us, and we get to do things that we enjoy. In this story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, God himself shows us how gratitude works. But there is also a great lesson in this story, beyond showing the divinity and the power of Jesus: Gratitude turns what we have into enough. His turning a small about of bread and fish into enough to feed thousands shows us on a small scale what God does all the time: turning a little wheat into much wheat, and two fish into many fish. Being fully divine, and being the agent of creation ( through him all things were created), Jesus knows that he can turn a small amount into a feast. Of course, there’s another layer to this story. And then, quite literally, gratitude turns what he has into enough. Jesus is not grateful here because he has enough. Jesus shows us how the role of gratitude and blessing is reversed from how we normally think of it. ![]() But they are situations in which Jesus shows us that gratitude is the right response. But how often are you thankful when you don’t have enough? When you don’t have enough money, or time? When you’re rushed trying to complete something? When you’re faced with a seemingly impossible task? These are not situations in which we are naturally grateful. ![]() Normally, when we think about gratitude, we think about being grateful for all the good things in our lives. He is grateful first, not for having enough food, but for what little there is. He isn’t grateful for having enough food to eat. And he doesn’t give thanks for an abundance of food. He doesn’t say “How are we going to feed all these people?!” He doesn’t say “This isn’t enough.” He gives thanks for the very small amount in front of him.Īnd here’s another important thing to notice: Jesus doesn’t panic. That’s barely enough to feed one family.” If this were happening today the disciples might have said “we have to call for pizza!”īut Jesus doesn’t send the people home. “We have to send these people home! How are we going to feed them all? We have these 5 small buns and 2 fish. ![]() If half of the men who were there were married with kids, then there may have been 10,000 people present. Jesus and 12 of his close friends are out in a remote place, maybe in the countryside somewhere, far from any grocery stores (which would have been marketplaces 2000 years ago) and far from any cities or towns. What Jesus’ Feeding the 5,000 Teaches Us about Giving Thanks in All Circumstances ![]()
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