Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.” But Jesus said, “You feed them.” (Mark 6:34-37 NLT).

At the time I am writing today’s issue of Morning Devotional I have just returned from a very inexpensive meal at a local fast food restaurant. I ordered off the dollar menu and the total was $3.29. I say that to emphasize that I was really trying to be as cost efficient as possible (which translates to: I didn’t have a lot of cash in my pocket!) As soon as I got out of my truck to go inside a man walked up to me and said, “Please don’t be scared. My wife and I are hitchin’ through town and we don’t need any food, but we need a place to stay. She’s pregnant and it’s too cold to go any further. I need $36.00 for a room. Can you help?” My first reaction was to say, “No.” And, I did. I went inside and got my food and watched through the window as he approached others with no luck. He came inside and sat beside his wife who was indeed pregnant and God laid the passage in our reading today on my heart.

You probably know the story, but let me describe the setting. Thousands of people have come to see Jesus. He had compassion for them, healed their sick, and taught them many things of God. Now the people are hungry. The disciples advised Jesus to send the people away so they could buy food. Now, Jesus says to His minister-trainees: “You give them something to eat!” I can almost hear the disciples stammering: “Well, uh, Jesus, that would be okay, except, that, well, that would be impossible, you see, ‘cause, well, we don't have enough food for all these people.” Jesus feeds the people and the people are satisfied!