Coming Home: Finding More Than Enough

Message Coming Home: Finding More Than Enough 

Scripture: John 6: 1-13

Today we are concluding our “Coming Home” sermon series, where we’ve been asking the question, “What do we find when we come home to life with Jesus?” I hope you’ve been able to pick up on some of the themes that drive my heart, themes like love, life and purpose. And I hope these themes will come to define our season of ministry together. But before we put a bow on this series, we have one more gift to discover: what God gives us is more than enough. I invite you to read with me…

I was about 10 years old when I was asked to think about going on my first mission trip.  My parents had been on previous trips, but this time they thought it would be good for the entire family to travel and serve together. Now, I had a profound list of interests as a 10 year old, but suffice to say, helping others wasn’t one of them. I was a backyard kickball star and could outrun anyone in a good game of Capture the Flag, but I didn’t even know what the word mission meant! I had heard of poverty, but wasn’t sure I had never seen it.  I had heard adults talk about rebuilding homes, but I had barely ever lifted a hammer. Yet somehow my parents convinced me to go. We pulled up to the church on takeoff day, and I found myself surrounded by men and women three times my age who had “made it” in life. They were full of valuable life experiences and resources. And they came prepared. They loaded up the vans with toolboxes and tool belts, circular saws and drills, ready to rebuild homes and rebuild lives. And I came with nothing… except a sleeping bag, a pillow, and some extra clothes…and the awkward feeling that I had nothing substantial to offer.

That must have been exactly how the disciples felt that day when Jesus asked the question, “So how do you think we can feed this large crowd? You know, they’ve been listening and following all this time, and we can’t let them go home without a bite to eat, so what do you say, guys?  How can we make this happen?” Well the truth was, they couldn’t.  And Jesus knew it.  Nobody had planned for this crowd to grow so large, or else they would’ve been better prepared.  And so they looked around and there were no fast food restaurants in sight, and there was no way  the crowd could make it home before the marketplace shut down for the evening.  Finally, Philip said what was on everybody’s mind:  “Six months wages would not buy enough bread to feed these people even a little bit!”  In other words, “That’s impossible! We simply don’t have the resources to solve a problem like this.”  

Interestingly enough, we still find ourselves in a world where finding enough for the crowd continues to be a sizable challenge. According to the Feeding America, 1in 8 Pennsylvanias struggle with hunger on a daily basis, as do 1 in 6 children. They estimate that it would take over $797 million per year to meet our state’s food insecurity. In Clearfield County alone, there are almost 10,000 residents are defined as “food insecure.”(map.feedingamerica.org) That’s a pretty sizable challenge, and it’s not the only one. We could talk about mental health issues, grief, job loss, marriage problems, poverty, cancer- and they all lead to the same conclusion: We live in a tremendously broken and hurting world that needs to know the love and grace of God. 

There’s not one person in this service who hasn’t experienced a desire to do something about our world’s brokenness. Desire is never the issue, at least that’s the impression I get. The issue has to do with resources.  Like the disciples, we often examine the problem and we see what we don’t have.  We don’t have enough bread to feed every person.  We don’t have enough money to help every person who lives in poverty.  We don’t have enough time to care for every person who needs our attention.  We don’t have the right tools to get the job done.  We don’t have enough…until Jesus reveals what we do have. And that’s a game changer. 

As the disciples continue to question how they could possibly find enough food to feed the crowd, Andrew comes back to the circle and says, “I don’t know what good it is, but there’s a boy here who has five loaves of bread and two fish.”  And that’s all Jesus needs to hear.  It didn’t matter that this boy’s offering wasn’t enough; it didn’t matter that his resources weren’t enough to feed a small family let alone a crowd of thousands; it didn’t matter that Andrew and the others placed little significance in these gifts; what did matter was that the boy had something, and when we place our something into the hands of Jesus, that’s enough. Jesus takes our something and makes it more than enough. 

Now, one thing we must relentlessly believe is that we each have something to offer.  And what we have to offer is pretty good, but we need to believe it.  There are times that we too easily, especially as Americans, fall into the trap of what is known as a theology of scarcity, this idea that somehow we don’t have enough. But if we believe God is who God says He is, then we are an abundant people. And I believe this with all my might: We have everything we need to do what God has asked us to do. We just need to get better at recognizing what we do have. First and foremost, we have a God who can do anything. Anything. And I’ll never back down from that. This is the same God who provided manna in the wilderness for the wandering Israelites. If he could do that, then He can feed a large crowd. But secondly, and I hope you hear this in the depths of your beings- the second most valuable resource you have is you! You are a gifted people, and when you allow God to use your life and your story and your gifts, beautiful things happen.

Think about this for a moment. You have a life filled with ups and downs, traumatic experiences and mountaintop joys.  And you’re the only person who has experienced those moments in those particular ways. Because of your unique, God-given profile, you might be the only person who can get through to your neighbor down the street, or the child next door, or the crusty old man who says, “I’ll never believe.”  Here’s just one example: Share personal story…your story is your biggest asset, and when your story is given over to the hands of God, it will lead to far more blessing than any of us could ever imagine.  The biggest resource you have at your disposal is you.  Don’t ever underestimate the impact of what God can do with your life story. But here’s the question I have for you. Will you give your something to God? It might only feel like “two loaves of bread and five small fish,” and it might be all you have, but will you surrender what you have to God and let Him do what He does? 

On the last Sunday of June, just one week before beginning my time with you, I had the opportunity to worship in my home church. And every time I worship at Ohl, I’m reminded of the people who shared their lives with me.  There was Lee, who pulls me aside every time he sees me and says, “I hope you know I’m praying for you Dinger boys and your families.” There was Deb, who always (and still does) wants to hear the latest happenings in my life. There was Denny, who routinely gave up a week in the summer to counsel 12-year old boys at church camp.  There was Jean and Peg, who devoted their Sunday mornings to teaching rambunctious children. And I could go on and on an on.  

None of these folks ever made it big time. None of them have a ton of money or lots of shiny toys.  None of them changed the world or eradicated any of the major problems in our world. They are farmers and teachers and stay-at-home-moms, and most live within 10 miles of where they grew up. Their names mean nothing to you and probably never will.  But they mean something to the Jesus and they certainly mean something to me.  I’m sure they’ve done what they could for their churches and communities.  If I were to ask each of them if they tithed, I’m pretty sure most of them would say they do.  And if I were to ask if they strive to use their spiritual gifts to bring joy to others, I’m guessing they would say yes to that question as well.  Those are resources that God has given us, and expects us, to use liberally.   But the one resource I don’t need to ask about is each one’s life. They might not have had everything, but they had something, like a few loaves of bread and few small fish, and when they willingly placed their something in God’s hands, their faith and influence somehow landed in the heart of a young man who would end up giving his life to Jesus Christ and his love. And that young man would one day become your pastor.

I hope you know how important your life is for somebody. Maybe God has blessed you with tremendous financial resources or strong leadership gifts or keen visionary insight.  Maybe you have time to visit and listen, skills to teach and to share with others or a strong desire to pray. And those resources are so important, and you should be using them as a means to bring glory to God.  But the one resource you most definitely have is you: you with all your past, your pains, your victories and your lessons. And although it might seem like it’s “just a few loaves of bread,” it’s might just change somebody else’s life. And that’s the point, isn’t it? To see lives changed. To see Jesus satisfy the deep hungers of the heart. To see the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. You see, when we come home to life with Jesus, His mission becomes our mission, His desires become ours. And Jesus is stubborn enough to remind us that, in His house, He is enough. And Jesus will always be more than enough. So are you willing to trust God with your resources? Are you willing to place your somethings in His hand? Are you willing to let Jesus use whatever you bring to the table? If you are, you might just find yourself, like a ten year old boy on a mission trip to Toledo, Ohio, wrapped up in God’s grand plan to make all things new. Amen.