Sunday Snippets: What's So Special About Your Fish?

Matthew 14:17-18, 20-21 "And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children."

John 21:9-10, 12 "As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught."

Luke 24:41-43 "And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them."

I know there are a lot of Scriptures there to read, but please do take the time, or my points aren't going to make that much sense. (They might not anyways, so please just give me the best chance you can, haha! ;) 

This past week I was feeling a bit discouraged because sometimes I feel like I am not using my abilities to their fullest potential to serve The Lord. I do what I can, but sometimes it can feel very small! As I was working out one evening, I was reading the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, and it struck me again how the sweet humility of a little boy who shared his fish with The Master blessed thousands of people. Thousands. I highly doubt he could have guessed that on the day he walked out to see Jesus, carrying the little lunch his mama packed for him, that he would be used of God to bless that many people with a satisfying meal AND the incredible privilege of seeing a miracle!! He simply gave his fish to Jesus, trusting that they would be used how He willed. 

The second story took place after Christ's resurrection, when the disciples went back to their old occupation of fishing. (Not for men). Having caught nothing at all during the night, they were returning wearily when Jesus called out to them from shore, asking if they had caught anything. When they replied in the negative, He told them to throw their nets on the other side. We know the story from there...they did, and the nets were filled to breaking with fish. When Peter realized Who the man on the shore was, he jumped overboard and swam to meet Him. After they all got there, Jesus had cooked fish waiting, but He also asked them to give some of the fish that they had caught. The small group of disciples then ate a meal with Jesus.

My last example is from right after the resurrection, when Christ went into the room where the disciples were gathered and mourning His death. They couldn't believe that it was truly Him, and were afraid that it was a ghost! To prove to them that He was real flesh and blood, Jesus ate fish and honey in front of them. 

You can probably see where I'm going with this by now. Let's compare our talents, abilities, and resources to fish. When we give them to God to use as He wants to, does it really matter what He chooses to do with them? If I were to write a song, and God used it to bless thousands of people, what a wonderful thing!! However, if it only encouraged a small handful of believers, or if I just sang it in my heart as a song of praise to The Lord, is it any less wonderful? I don't believe so! Or what if someone was an amazing carpenter or builder, and wanted to use his talent for God: If he constructed a massive church building that could hold hundreds, and with the same humble attitude of giving, put on a new roof for a struggling family in the church, I don't believe God would be any less pleased with him for the "smaller" service.

If I sent someone a gift of money on their birthday, would I text or call them every single day after they got it, to make sure that they were spending it how I wanted them to?? Of course not! That would be totally ridiculous! So if I'm giving God everything I have in me, should I be worrying about how He uses it? Nope. If He decides to lift up and encourage just one single person through me, it's worth it. It will always be worth it to give my all to Him. Whether my fish are big or tiny, beautiful or rather smelly, weird looking fish, I want to be willing to let Him have them! :)

This week, let's give our fishes to Jesus, and leave them in His hand to use...Let's not take them back because He's not feeding five thousand with them! Maybe He wants you to give your fishes to Him just as a test of your love! May we always give of our best to The Master.

Mykaela