The child, he sat on the grass among the sea of people gathered to see miracles and hear the strange and wonderful words of Yeshua. Hour after hour he sat with his people watching and wondering. Fortunately his family had packed a basket with food for the journey but little did they know they would find themselves captivated for such a time by words that gave life and hope to their hearts. There was more going on in those days, than listening and watching. There was an energy in the air and a stirring that held even young children in its embrace.
Yet the hour comes where hunger beckons our energy to listen and the question rose from the teacher, “Where shall we acquire bread for the people to eat?” Without hesitation, the small seemingly insignificant child stood like a tiny blade of grass among the crowd with both his heart and his basket open. He did not stop to consider the size of the crowd in comparison to the size of the food he carried. His rational mind had not yet crowded his heart from responding to love by giving most generously the small thing he had. He did not calculate or try to preserve for himself. And while others saw only the small offering compared to the great crowd, Yeshua knew the generosity of God’s heart and the child’s heart to respond which became the love that transformed the small gift into a great feast in the hands of the Creator. Two small fish and five small barley loaves broken and blessed, multiplied and poured out, to feed a hungry people.
There is so much to learn from the beauty of innocence.
I have come to know there is no limitation to love. It multiplies and expands beyond anything the human mind can give. It seems sometimes we hold back the small things because we see them or ourselves as insignificant in comparison to the need of the people we find ourselves among. And yet, generosity is not necessarily a reference to the big gift but instead a reference to the heart of the giver. Sometimes the greatest gifts come in the smallest of packages.
I can only wonder if on that day, Yeshua felt like a beloved mother who had received the simplest bouquet of dandelions from her small child filled with wonder and joy. It’s not the dandelion that delights the mother’s heart but the heart of the child to gift her with such great love.
I heard the other day, faith defined as bold confidence in what God can do. In this New Year I want to be more like the child in the crowd with the beauty of innocence that simply responds to love in giving without reserve, even if the giving is simply a smile. Today is that day.
Sending you love to multiply!
You can find this story in John 6 of the Christian gospel. It is so important that it is referenced in all four gospels of the Christian text.