"Gather the pieces that are left over.  Let nothing be wasted."  John 6: 12

      Jesus fed a crowd of 5,000 with one boy's lunch.  Each person ate until they were full though it would have been a miracle if each person had gotten just one bite.  In the past, when hearing this story, I often missed that reality.  To further astound the reader, I realize from John's account that there was food left over!

    After the meal was served, Jesus told his disciples to "gather the pieces."  It was important that nothing be wasted even though Jesus supplied in extravagant amounts.  With what others might have considered waste, twelve baskets were filled, enough to feed the twelve disciples who had probably not yet eaten.  This is comforting.  Every child of God who serves others today and denies themselves can know that God will also supply their needs.  We can not outgive God.   

    Is there a metaphorical message in here as well regarding kingdom realms?  Oftentimes, as it is in the physical, it will be in the spiritual.  Whenever I have been spiritually fed and felt satiated, was there more food available than I knew at the time?  Here's how I can find out.  I'll consider the last time God allowed me to feast at His table.  I'll recall moments when I was touched with spiritual insight.   I'll then re-trace the experience.  I'll ask the Holy Spirit to 'gather the pieces', to pull together any missing nuances of my spiritual meal.  It might mean re-visiting a journal entry or listening to an old sermon tape.  Perhaps I'll re-read a portion of scripture (and the notes I made in the margin) that were pivotal in my life.  "There's more food than you thought," God is telling me.    

     Wherever God takes us today in review, may we discover that scriptural stories are multi-dimensional.  Each time their truth is exposed to the Light, it sparkles and glistens, revealing greater clarity and depth.  God gets mileage out of everything, even a story about a boy, his fish, and some bites of bread.