The Power of Little

Mark 8:1-8Mark 8:1-8
1. During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples to him and said,
2. I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.
3. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some have come a long distance.
4. His disciples answered, But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?"
5. "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied.
6. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so.
7. They had few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.
8. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

We always think about the miracle of feeding of how Jesus Christ used very little to satisfy the multitude. We hardly consider seeking the divine understanding of how this miracle came to be. One of the key word to consider in the passage above is "compassion." Compassion in simple analysis, is love coupled with action or sympathy that triggers off godly action. It is one thing to be sympathetic concerning the need or downfall of somebody. It is another thing to be spurred into action to render a helping hand. When the two arms of compassion are completed, it becomes an impact in the tender and merciful mind of God and miracles follow.

Verse 4 revealed that the myopic sightedness of the disciples is a magnifying sightedness of the Lord that sees the end of a situation from the beginning. The disciple conceived impossiblity but the power of the Lord gave birth to possibility - reality.
II Kings 4:2-7II Kings 4:2-7
2. Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
3. Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few.
4. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
5. She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6. When all the jars were full, she said to her son. "Bring me another one." But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.
7. She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."; I Kings 18:43-44I Kings 18:43-44
43. "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
44. The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you." ; I Kings 17:13-14I Kings 17:13-14
13. Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
14. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land."

The woman had little oil but it was enough for the man of God, Elisha, to meet the abundant need of the poor woman. Elijah needed "a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea" to confirm an answered prayer for the drought of 3 years in the kingdom of Ahab. A "little meal" for the widow of Zarephath and her son was made to be enough to sustain them and the man of God till the end of the famine according to the divine power of God. The man asked for his own first. Was it selfishness? Nope! It was faithfulness. The step of faith has to be fulfilled first, before the divine intervention occurred. The widow exercised a little faith like a mustard seed and the power of God came down.

When the disciples reported that there were seven loaves only. Jesus Christ exercised a step of faith; he bid the multitude to sit on the ground because the "little" is enough for the glory of God to be manifested. He thereby taught them how to wait in confidence for the divine intervention of God. When the Israelites were walking with God in the wilderness, they were at a crossroad: enemies were waging war behind them, the Red Sea before them, and the wilderness with horrible animals by their sides threatened but Moses told them to ". . . stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" Exodus 14:13; Psalm 46:10 When the sea raged with storm, the disciples that were in the boat with the Lord Jesus wearied. But Jesus Christ spoke peace into the situation when he said ". . .Peace be still" Mark 4:39 The multitude however sat down trusting in the divine power of God with high expectation, not in human devices, thought or solutions.

Jesus Christ took the seven loaves and gave thanks - a clear sense of appreciation. It was not only a lesson that we should thank God before and after our meal everyday. It was more importantly a lesson that we should thank God for "little," those things we considered insignificant. It means that in our afflictions we still need to see the reasons why we should thank God for what He is doing in His own ways to accomplish His divine purposes in our lives.

Reflect on this:

The multiplying effect of "little" in this passage is conceived in compassion, cultured in faithfulness, flourished in trust and obedience, and launched out in thanksgiving. Apply it to your spiritual and material situations, you will experience the mightiness of God in your "little."