Counting Your Loaves

…They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” Mark 6:37b-38

In our minds, it’s easy for us to drive through the neighborhood of what we may lack in life or at a particular moment in time. We may not live in this neighborhood full-time, but if we’re honest, we drive through it from time to time. In the book of Mark, the sixth chapter, Jesus and his disciples are in the presence of over five thousand hungry people in the middle of nowhere. There was an urgent problem soon presented to them, being that Jesus was who the people were there to see. The people were in need of food (I’ll say they were starving) and we know that the best of folk can get downright ornery when they haven’t eaten.

To make a long story short Jesus and his disciples eventually fed these people with two fish and five loaves of bread. However, before his final outcome, the concern of the disciples was that they did not have enough money to feed the multitude, but Jesus took the focus off money and asked them; “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” Now, I will be the first person to tell you that having money is important, it affords you and I freedom among other things, but not everyone has money. Despite this fact, I do believe that everyone does have a loaf or loaves to offer the world.

For the purposes of this discussion, a loaf or loaves, are gifts and talents that could bring you monetary gain but ultimately they will bless others and simultaneously, provide you with fulfillment. In this biblical narrative I’ve referenced, people were hungry, so a good meal had to be the blessing or the endgame for everyone in that moment.

Now, after the disciples did some due diligence, because doing work is always required, they discovered that all they had at their disposal were five loaves of bread and two fishes. The fishes were a bonus. When they presented the groceries they found to Jesus, he blessed it, it was multiplied because of God’s blessing and then people ate, they were satisfied and there were leftovers.

After I read this, I started to do a personal inventory. I asked myself: “What are my loaves?” I got loaves. You got loaves. All God’s children got loaves! So, I made a list of my loaves in midst of my lack (and it don’t always need to be financial lack). Afterwards, I presented this list to God, asked for him to bless it, since he gave me the loaves in the first place, and then I trusted him to multiply my loaves to not only benefit my life (which includes making money), but also the lives of others. By the way, since you’ve asked, one of my loaves is storytelling.

So, whenever you get discouraged or even before you get to that neighborhood of discouragement, if you can remember to, count your loaves, because you’ve got loaves. Once you’ve finished counting, present them to God for a blessing and then watch him multiply what you’ve given him somehow or some way, to bless others and simultaneously bring fulfillment to you. Count your loaves, family!