Remember always, as the center of
everything, Jesus Christ, a man of human ancestry, yet raised by God from the
dead according to my Gospel. For preaching this I am having to endure being
chained in prison as if I were some sort of a criminal. But they cannot chain
the Word of God, and I can endure all these things for the sake of those whom
God is calling, so that they too may receive the salvation of Jesus Christ, and
its complement of glory after the world of time. I rely on this saying: If we
died with him we shall also live with him: if we suffer with him we shall also
reign with him. If we deny him he will also deny us: yet if we are faithless he
always remains faithful. He cannot deny his own nature.(2 Tim. 2:8-13)
Thomas Obadiah
Chisholm had a difficult life as a young adult. In fact, his health was so
fragile that there were times when he was confined to his bed, completely unable
to work. Between bouts of illness he would have to push himself to put in the extra
hours at various jobs just to make ends meet. But despite his difficulties, Thomas
found great comfort in the Scriptures, particularly in the fact that God was
faithful to be his strength in times of illness and weakness, and to provide for
his needs.
Later in life, while
away on a mission’s trip, Thomas wrote several letters to one of his good
friends, William Runyan, a little-known musician at the time. Occasionally,
Thomas would include one of the poems he had written along with the letter. Runyan
found one of Thomas' poems so moving that he decided to put it to music. The
hymn got very little recognition, however, until it was discovered by a Moody
Bible Institute professor who loved it so much, and requested it sung so often
at chapel services, that the song became the unofficial theme song of the
college. But it was not until 1954, when George Beverly Shea began to sing Great
is Thy Faithfulness at the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades, that the
hymn was heard around the world – more than three (3) decades after its initial
composition.
Fortunately, God’s
faithfulness has never depended upon the faithfulness of his children. He is
faithful even when we aren’t. When we lack courage, he doesn’t. In fact, he’s
made a history out of using people in spite of themselves. Take the feeding of
the five thousand, for example. It’s the only miracle, aside from those of the
final week of Jesus’ life, that’s recorded in all four Gospels. (Matt.
14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:10-17; and John 6:5-15) So, why did all four
writers think it worth repeating? Maybe because they wanted to show how God
doesn’t give up even when His people do.
That particular
day began with the news of the death of John the Baptist, and it continued with
the return of the disciples from a short-term mission’s trip. Following the
disciples were five thousand men and their families. Jesus tried to get away
from the crowd by crossing the Sea of Galilee (about 8 miles wide) to a little
fishing village, Bethsaida, only to find the crowd waiting for him there. He
wanted to mourn the news of John the Baptist in solitude, but instead he was
surrounded by people. He wanted to spend time with just the disciples, but he
got a crowd instead. He wanted time to think, but he had people to face.
So, he spent time
teaching them, and then he turned to Philip and asked, “Where can we buy enough
bread for all these people to eat?” (John 6:5) Keep in mind now that Philip,
along with the other disciples, had just come back from casting out demons and
healing the sick. (Mark 6:13) So you’d expect him to be kind of optimistic; a little
bit of faith would seem entirely appropriate. After all, he’d just spent
several weeks seeing the impossible happen right before his very eyes. But how
does Philip respond? Well, he indentifies the problem alright, but has absolutely
no clue how to solve it. “We would all have to work a month to buy enough food
for each person to have only a little piece,” he groans. (John 6:7) In other
words, he can cite the stats, but he can’t see how to help. He can crunch the
numbers, but he can’t construct the answer. And even though the very answer to
prayer is standing right in front of him, he doesn’t even think to pray.
Equally
disturbing is the silence of the other disciples. Are they optimistic, like we
had hoped Philip would be? Well, read their words and see for yourself: “No one
lives in this place and it is already very late. Send the people away so they
can go to the countryside and towns around here to buy themselves something to
eat.” (Mark 6:35-36) Wow. Where’s the faith in that response? Maybe something along
the lines of: “You can do it, Jesus. No challenge is too great for you. I mean,
we’ve seen you heal the sick and raise the dead. So, feeding this crowd? That’s
a clown question, bro.” But that’s not what they said. In fact, if faith were a
candle, these guys had entirely flamed out.
Apparently, it
never occurred to the disciples to turn the problem over to Jesus. Only Andrew came
close, but even his faith was small. “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley
bread and two little fish, but that is not enough for so many people.” (John
6:9) Andrew at least comes to Jesus with an idea. But he doesn’t come with much
faith. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find much faith on the hill that day. Philip
was cynical; Andrew was doubtful; and the other disciples were negative. Look
at them – they aren’t praying; they aren’t believing; they aren’t even seeking
a solution. If they’re doing anything, they’re telling Jesus what to do. “Send
the people away.” (Mark 6:36) Not a particularly good idea.
Thankfully, God
is greater than our weakness. In fact, our weaknesses reveal just how great God
is. He told another struggler, the apostle Paul, “When you are weak, my power
is made perfect in you.” (2 Cor. 12:9) And the feeding of the five thousand is a
perfect example of this principal. In fact, the scene answers the question, “What
does God do when his children are weak?” But if God ever needed an excuse to
give up on people, he had one here. Surely God would banish these followers
until they learned to believe. But is that what he does? You decide. “Then
Jesus took the loaves of bread, thanked God for them, and gave them to the
people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, giving as much as
the people wanted.” (John 6:11)
When the
disciples didn’t pray, Jesus prayed. When the disciples didn’t see God, Jesus
sought God. When the disciples were weak, Jesus was strong. When the disciples
had no faith, Jesus had faith – and he thanked God. But for what? The crowds?
The pandemonium? The weariness? The faithless disciples? No, he thanked God for
the basket of bread and two little fish. He ignored the clouds and found the
ray of sunshine and thanked God for it. And look what he does next. “Jesus
divided the bread and gave it to his followers, who gave it to the people.”
(Matt. 14:19)
In other words, rather
than punishing the disciples, he employs them. There they go, passing out the
bread they didn’t request, enjoying the answer to the prayer they didn’t even
pray. If Jesus would have reacted according to the faith of his disciples, the
multitudes would have starved. But he didn’t. And he doesn’t. God is true to us
even when we forget him. God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches
of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith. Like the text states, “If
we are faithless he always remains faithful. He cannot deny his own nature.” (2
Tim. 2:13)
Why is that
important to know? So we won’t get cynical. I mean, just look around you.
Aren’t there more mouths to feed than there’s bread available? Aren’t there
more wounds to heal than physicians can possibly mend? Aren’t there more who
need the truth than those who’re available to tell it? Aren’t there more
churches asleep than there are churches on fire? So what do we do? Throw our
hands up and walk away? Tell the world we can’t help them? That’s what the
disciples wanted to do.
No, we don’t
give up. We look up. We trust. We believe. And our optimism is not empty, or
hollow. Christ has proven worthy. He has shown that he never fails even though
there is nothing but failure in us. God is faithful even when his children aren’t.
That’s faithfulness. That’s our God.
Grace,
Randy
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