Five Loaves and Two Fishes

Many times we think that what we have in our hands or what we have to offer to people is too small or too little. And because of this thought we fail to take steps to make a difference in our lives or the lives of others. We have this wrong thought pattern because we forget the principle in the story of the five loaves and two fishes in Matthew 14:15-20. How did Jesus accomplish feeding over five thousand people with just a meager quantity of food? He focused on the seed principle. Jesus never thinks of anything offered to Him as too small so far as it was done or given cheerfully and in love. Whatever we have in our hands is a seed. Many people make the mistake of thinking that a seed must always be big, plenty or much before it can yield a harvest. This thought pattern is erroneous. Everything in life is a seed. Our smile is a seed. Giving a helping hand to another in need is a seed. A bottle of coke is a seed so is a packet of N5.00 biscuit. Playing the drum or guitar in the church is a seed and so is sweeping and cleaning the church. Helping an old man to cross a busy road is a seed, likewise giving up your seat in a crowded bus, train or room for a pregnant woman or the elderly.
The question now is what is in your hand? What is the “five loaves and two fishes” in your hand that you have shyly refused to sow because you feel that it is too small. This attitude is the reason the rich in our midst keep getting richer and the poor getting poorer. If you are too ashamed to give the little you have it is likely that you may remain in one spot for a very long time. The only way to make a difference in your life is to make a difference with the little you have.
In prison, it is generally not permitted that you keep money on you, and besides even if you were permitted how would you earn it since you are also not working to earn a living in there. In spite of this fact, you still have something on you or within you that counts as a seed. You can lend a helping hand in the Church. You can assist to counsel other confused inmates. Also you can give someone a bar of soap to wash or bath. Visiting and encouraging fellow inmates who are sick is another wonderful way to make a difference. These and more are all forms of seed. It is not always about money, but about what you can do to make a difference in your environment per time. When you take the first step, God goes ahead to give you more seeds and more opportunities to sow. Before long you become a man or woman to be reckoned with – someone worthy of honour even in prison.
Never allow the circumstances of life to determine how far you can go or what you can be. Use what is in you or on you to make a difference and create a change in your life. The good book says that whatever a man sows he shall reap so join me and let us begin to sow good seeds. The past is gone, but let us make sure that the future is glorious by what we do today.
Shalom!