Just Think About It

I’m not getting religious on you but I want to use a biblical story to make a point.  We have all heard the story of the loaves and fishes.  A bunch of people come to hear Jesus speak and they have to be fed.  Some Apostles find a boy with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish, Jesus says a prayer, and he feeds the multitudes.

Nice story, could be true, may not be.  That is up to you but I’m going to give you a little different view.  I think it is one you can kick around in your mind during some down time and get something out of.

Most people believe that the miracle was feeding so many people from such a low supply.  Do you really believe that all those people came unprepared?  Doesn’t it make more sense to believe some of them actually brought food to munch on?  Did you ever go to a baseball game or concert without a few dollars for a hot dog and beer and maybe some candy in your pocket?  These were people who never had a 7-Eleven they could stop at so they planned to bring what they needed, like food.

Now you know from other New Testament stories that Jesus appealed to more than just Jews.  He had Romans, Egyptians, Samarians, rich, poor, businessmen, laborers, farmers, fishermen, beggars, tax collectors, and more.  These were people who didn’t like each other normally and probably didn’t speak to each other.  I really doubt they would share their food with each other.

So maybe the miracle wasn’t feeding everyone from the meager contents of some little kids’ lunch box.  Just maybe it was getting everybody to share.  If you think that would be a lesser miracle just watch your legislators in action.  Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Liberals, Conservatives, middle of the roaders.  Watch how your neighbors and co-workers group based on age, sex, and position. 

Now isn’t that a miracle you can think about?  Isn’t it something we can all strive for?

I was thinking about this when Congress was fumbling with the national budget.  They had their beliefs that their mind fed on and didn’t want to consider other beliefs.  Maybe some of the people in the crowd didn’t like the fish