Is There Enough For Me?

 

Mark 8:1-2, 6-9
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.”

And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people.

Luke 22:19
And [Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

We’ve all been at a BBQ or a party, super hungry and surrounded by other starving people. Our eyes settle on the one thing that we really want to eat. It’s sitting there in the open, with no protection from these greedy people. We ask ourselves, “Is there enough for me?” Will there be any tender, juicy, smoky brisket left on the plate by the time it comes around to me? Or will it be gone?

Is there enough for me?

God knows that hunger is universal. It’s something we can all relate to. Many in the world, sadly, know hunger on a level of suffering far beyond anything you or I even fear. But we all know hunger every day, so God included many events and lessons using food in the bible. One of the most famous is about Jesus taking one person’s lunch to feed a huge multitude.

If you’ve read or heard the story before, the numbers in these verses from Mark 8 may have surprised you. Didn’t Jesus feed five thousand, not four thousand people? And weren’t there twelve baskets left over, not seven? Well, there are actually two different stories. Jesus fed five thousand men, plus women and children, in a Jewish region, and had twelve baskets left over—a clear link to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. But the second story takes place in a Gentile region, a non-Jewish region, and there are seven baskets of surplus—the bible’s number of completeness.

So, this is the message from God to a starving world. You are hungry and yet you hesitate as you come to me, wondering, “Is there enough for me?” Well, when thousands of my people came to me, I had plenty to go around, with an extra basket for each tribe! Yes, but I’m not Jewish, I don’t even know where I come from. No problem, a crowd of nobodies from nowhere also followed me and when they were hungry, there was enough for every one of them to be satisfied with more left over than when I started.

How can I take these stories and be sure it applies to you today? And not in the physical sense—like me, you’re probably trying to eat less food! I can confidently tell you that regardless of your spiritual history and spiritual need, when you come to Jesus and ask, “I’m starving, is there enough of you for me?” the answer is “Yes.” Because on the night before he went to the cross to save you from your individual sins, the Bread of Life for the world said, “This is my body, which is given for you,” along with the command that every person who comes to him, in every generation and in every corner of the world, remember that every day of your life there is enough at his table to satisfy all your spiritual hunger and need, no matter how extreme, with infinite grace and goodness and love left over.