Jesus Give Thanks and Shares
Now I think you all know the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. A boy with five small loaves and two small fish rocks up. Jesus takes this little lunchbox and I love what happens in John 6:11 where we read Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed it to those who were seated.
The Power of Giving Thanks
He has a great example of Jesus actually praying and He prays over His food. He gives thanks to God for the blessings that He is about to receive. I remember as a kid when we said grace before a meal, you just wanted to get it done as quickly as possible so you could eat.
But lately I've been realising that this is a great opportunity in my day to stop and focus on God. To remember that He is more valuable even than my food. To remember that He is the bread of life, and that my spiritual food is actually more important than my real food in a sense.
Gratitude as Witness
And so as we pause to pray before we eat, we say thank You to God for providing, and if Jesus did it, man, so should we, right? And I think this is also a great opportunity for us to, in a sense, stand up for our faith when we're outside of our homes.
If you're at a restaurant, say grace around the table. You know, sure, people might see it, but so what? You're not trying to win anybody's approval except God's, but you're trying to honour God with your life. And so giving thanks to God, even in public like that, is the way that we Christians live life.
Blessed to Bless
I hope that you're going to stop and pause and give thanks when you eat today. And I hope that it won't just be a ritual, but I hope that it will be truly thanksgiving in your heart because amen, think of it, if you're lucky enough to eat today, you're luckier than a lot of people.
God is good. God is so good to us. Friends, let's be thankful people. And let's remember that Jesus, once He had given thanks, also shared with others. And likewise, let's share with others from the blessings we've got. What a privilege it is to have so that we can give to others.
