Appeals

Matthew 14:15-20 – The disciples came to Jesus and said, "Send the crowds away, so they can buy themselves some food." Jesus replied, "Give them something to eat yourselves."
"All we have here," they said, "is five loaves and two fishes"
"Let me have them", he said. He looked up to heaven, and said the blessing. They ate to their hearts content, and the scraps left over were enough to fill twelve great baskets.

Appeals, appeals, appeals: The list of charitable organizations flooding the mails with appeals for donations is endless. I will never live long enough to use up all the address labels and cute little correspondence cards tucked suggestively into a lot of these letters. Sometimes I wonder if they aren't wasting a lot of their funds in such relentless pursuit of the names on their mailing lists. (Where in the world do they get them anyway?) We do what we can, but the resources are not endless, so we have to be selective.

I don't have the answer. However, for Christians I believe there is something described in the above scripture passage that may help our thinking about these things.

The disciples who were with Jesus became aware that there were a lot of people who had followed them to a "solitary place", that they had no food with them, and that the hours of daylight were drawing to a close. They approached Jesus and expressed their concern. They wanted him to send them away, so they could go to the nearby villages and buy the food they needed. Jesus reply was in effect, "No, you feed them." So they brought to him the few pieces of bread and fish they had between them (as if to show him the impossibility of what he was asking them to do). And in his hands, it became adequate for all. They even had leftovers. By putting what they had at the disposal of the Master, they ended up having enough to feed themselves and the multitude, and enough left for the morrow.

Isn't it possible that if we put what we have at the disposal of our Master, he will fulfill all our needs, as well as those for whom we are concerned? Worth a try.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that all we are and have belongs to you. Guide us in our giving, and teach us to depend on you to supply all our needs, here and hereafter. Amen.

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