To those of you who thought you were going to be reading a food column, I apologize. What follows is not a lesson in food preparation, but a practical guide to sharing what we have in Christ. 
      If you have ever been faced with the dilemma of preparing a meal for a large group of people, then you have had some of the same feelings and frustrations that Jesus’ disciples had when they were faced with 5,000 hungry people in Mark 6. Before we look at the more familiar part of the chapter, let’s look at the events that precede the big picnic. 
      In the earlier part of this chapter in Mark, Jesus has sent his disciples out on their first mission trip. Up to this point, they had conversed with Jesus, sat at His feet, and heard Him preach. They had seen Him perform miracles, and now it was their turn. They had received, and now it was their turn to give back. They had been taught, and now it was their turn to teach. I’m sure some of them held back, saying, “But I’m not ready. I need more time with you, Master,” but Jesus sent them out two by two. When God leads us to do something, do we approach the task as if we believe that we can do it because He is asking us to do it? Later, we learn the result of this first mission trip: The disciples had told everyone they met to turn from their sin. They cast out many demons and healed many sick people (vs. 12-13). Upon their return, they gave their report to Jesus. Can’t you just feel the excitement as everyone tried to talk at once? Every detail was important! “Jesus, you should have seen it! Jesus, we didn’t even want to sleep or eat! Jesus, what a trip!” 
      The following verses tell us one of the most amazing stories of the New Testament. When a crowd of people interrupted their plans for rest after the missionary journey, the disciples suggested that, because it was getting late, Jesus should send the people away so they could get something to eat. The disciples recognized a need right in front of them, but they did not see themselves as part of the solution. Sometimes, it is easier for you and me to minister to those farther away from us than those at our doorsteps. It is easier for us to support foreign missions with a check than to reach out to those closest to us who may have the same spiritual needs as those in a foreign land. 
      Jesus’ next statement was baffling to the disciples. He said, “YOU give them something to eat.” They had just returned from a mission journey where they had performed miracles greater than what Jesus was asking at this moment, but all that the perplexed disciples could come up with was a small boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish. They must have wondered why Jesus was making this request, but Jesus had more lessons for them to learn. 
      The story that unfolds is one that children have learned in Sunday school for generations. Five loaves and two fish—only enough for a small boy, yet multiplied to feed thousands. How could something so amazing occur? 
      First, the disciples gave what they had. The only thing they could find was a small boy’s lunch. That was all, but that was enough. 
      Look into YOUR spiritual lunchbox today. What do you have in there that can be used to spiritually nourish someone else? Don’t look for a gourmet meal. Even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can taste good to someone who is hungry! You may have sat under excellent Bible teachers all of your life. You may have studied the Scriptures and led Bible studies for years. Now, what are you willing to give from what you have learned that will impact someone else’s life for eternity? 
      Second, in order for this miracle to occur, there had to be obedience. Jesus asked for the people to sit down on the grass, and they obeyed. Get a picture of this beautiful scene—people in groups of 50 or 100, patiently sitting on the hillside waiting to be fed. It must have looked like a giant patchwork quilt! Then, as a result of their obedience, Jesus kept on giving bread and fish to the disciples until everyone was full. The multiplying took place in Jesus’ hand, not the baskets. 
      I think one of the most interesting parts of this story has to do with the twelve baskets of leftovers. That’s right, leftovers! Why would Jesus have leftovers? Why didn’t Jesus stop when the last person had been fed? Why not nine baskets of leftovers or thirteen baskets of leftovers? Why twelve? 
      Well, maybe the answer to those questions can be found in how I treat leftovers at my house. Sometimes, if there is just a little bit left when I’m cleaning up the kitchen, I just eat it real quick. Not that I’m still hungry after a big meal, but what’s another spoonful? Sometimes, I just throw the leftovers away—down the garbage disposal, out in the trash. Sometimes, I put the leftovers in a little plastic bowl and shove them into the dark recesses of the refrigerator, hoping that maybe I’ll be the next recipient of a Nobel Prize for medical research for what is found growing there! 
      We can only guess why Jesus might have allowed 12 baskets of leftovers, but another number seems to connect in a peculiar way. There were also 12 disciples, weren’t there? 
      Could it be that Jesus wanted each disciple to not just take home a basket of leftovers, but also a visual example? Perhaps Jesus wanted to remind the disciples that, spiritually speaking, they were not the only hungry people in the world. Maybe He also wants us to learn that we should not keep consuming and soaking up spiritual food until we are stuffed. Perhaps He wants us to take what we have learned and go about the work of providing for others who have spiritual needs. 
      Our experience with Christ, however limited we feel it may be, means that we know something that someone across the street, across town, or across the office desk does not know. God means for us to share it. 
      In the story that we just looked at, the food handed out by the weakest disciple, maybe Judas, was just as satisfying to the one receiving it as that handed out by Peter or John, whom we consider to be the stronger disciples. It was Jesus’ hand that multiplied the food and made it nourishing—not the one who was serving it! In your favorite restaurant, you don’t say, “Well, the food is lousy, but we go there because of the service.” Of course not! It isn’t the waiter of your favorite restaurant who makes the food taste good and makes it nourishing. It is the one who prepared it in the first place…the chef. You can be a spiritual waiter. It is God who will bless your work and multiply your efforts. 
      It’s the same today….people around us are hungry and thirsty for spiritual food, and Jesus says to us, “YOU give them something to eat.” When Jesus asks us to do something that in our minds seems impossible, it’s because He is going to do the work. Jesus’ work on that grassy hillside was not a lesson in food preparation, but it was about exercise—exercising spiritual muscles. Jesus wants us to see that the purpose of all the teaching and training that we are receiving is so we can give to others.       
      So...take a look in your spiritual lunchbox. Open it wide for God to use!