Daily Affirmations - Day 1- According to the Word of the Lord: Shared Blessings

This week's Theme: According to the Word of the Lord

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Day 1: Shared Blessings

My friend Nita described the methodical process she designed to handle her daily meal preparation. In her culture, leftovers are not favored, and food is prepared daily. Nita, not desiring to see food wasted, prepares just enough for the day’s main meal.

I can definitely identify with that cultural norm. Growing up in the Caribbean, I was also part of a culture where new, labor-intensive main meals were prepared from scratch each day. And although that has changed somewhat, many homes still hold fast to those customs.

Not mine! I thrive on leftovers and unashamedly declare that I can eat the same meal for several days! And I will often freeze extra food that cannot be eaten within two or three days so that I can have it later that week, or on a “food forage” day in the future.

“Don’t you get tired of it?” some ask. I don’t. I can eat the same meal for several successive days and not grow tired at all!

But through the years, I have also learned how to transform leftovers into new meals completely, with a few tweaks and additions. Sunday’s roasted chicken, for example, might morph into Tuesday’s tacos, and “veggies” from a weeknight may end up as a weekend soup! Like Nita, I try hard to at least minimize, and at best avoid waste. Our methods are different, but we strive for the same goal.

It strikes me that in Scripture, too, there is an emphasis on careful administration and prudent consumption. In fact, I am quite fascinated by the balance between ensuring fullness and abundance and yet guarding against waste and spoilage.

“Let nothing be wasted,” Jesus tells His disciples, as He instructs them to “gather the [leftovers]” (John 6:12). Many of us are familiar with the miracle:

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.

Philip answered Him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, He said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten (John 6:5-13).

In a similar miracle, Jesus would again carefully preserve the leftovers (Mark 8:1-9). And in a long-before Old Testament miracle, we find the same themes of abundance and careful administration (2 Kings 4:42-44).

It is easy for us to zoom in on the most obvious aspects of these miracles— the move from impossibility and scarcity (John 6:7-8; Mark 8:4,7) to abundance and surplus (John 6:11-13; Mark 8:8). And we can certainly think of countless ways to apply Jesus’ example in guarding against waste in our natural world—as Nita and I, and many of you try to do.

But it may be a little harder to grasp the spiritual lessons these miracles hold. In fact, Jesus later points out to the disciples that they had entirely missed the deeper truths:

“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” (Mark 8:19-21).

Like the disciples, we may sometimes miss the main point. Miracles, and the blessings they bring, while they delight us and encourage us in the understanding of who God is, and how He provides, defends, and watches over us— are not an end. All the physical blessings we receive in this transient world will after all, eventually pass away.

But it is in a much deeper spiritual sense that we can apply Jesus’s example of careful administration and prudent stewardship over the blessings and resources we are given. Because everything we receive is according to the word and the purpose of the Lord. And the basketfuls of overflowing blessings that we gather, share, repurpose, and turn into new meals to bless others, will last forever.

Tacos, anyone?