Giving All To Jesus
by Dan Jones, M.D.
John 6:9
“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
This young boy with the five loaves and two fish already had faced important choices about what to do with his lunch. Thus far, he had decided against throwing it away and decided not to selfishly eat his lunch by himself. These were good decisions. Keeping in mind his mother’s suggestion to share what he had with others, he faced a decision.
The boy had been listening to Jesus teach a while now. It was lunchtime, and he was hungry. His buddies were hungry, as well. As he calculated the number of his friends without lunch and the amount of lunch he had with him, he was in a dilemma. If he shared it with all his friends, none would have enough to even call it a snack. And, of course, there would be the thousands of other people without food to consider, as well. He had been moved by what Jesus had to say this morning about loving others. He had been stirred to give his heart to Jesus and trust Him with his life.
We can imagine, with these teachings of Jesus fresh on his mind, as he was about to divide his food among his friends, one of the disciples with Jesus approached him and, yet another choice was presented to him. The disciples were in search of food. Since they said they needed the food for Jesus, the boy presumed Jesus would be allowed to eat the only lunch available. After all, he was the reason all the people had gathered.
Willingly, and without hesitation, the boy gave his lunch up for Jesus. There was nothing he was not willing to do for Him. He watched, then, in amazement as all were told to sit. He watched as Jesus blessed those five loaves and two fish and told the disciple to distribute the food to the thousands gathered there. To his wonder, all had more than enough to eat. And it all started with his choice to give what he had to Jesus. Sharing his lunch with his friends in his own power would have been a good thing. Sharing his lunch with Jesus allowed His blessings to multiply his small lunch into a feast for thousands.
Those of us with a desire to serve others through health professions have the opportunity to do many "good works". In my daily spiritual life, my greatest struggle is not with throwing away what God has provided or using it selfishly. My greatest struggle is in avoiding the idea that I can "do good" with my own resources, talents, and decisions. Daily giving all this to Jesus and allowing him to control and multiply requires the same kind of faith shown by this young boy. The same blessings await us if we live a life of faith and give over to Jesus whatever we have.
Lord, help me to avoid the temptation of doing good in my own power. Take what I have, bless it, and use it for your purpose.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Wesual Click on Unsplash
