I am Not the Hero

Hi!

You know me as the boy who gave five barley loaves and two fish to Jesus. I am sure you are not aware of what happened after I returned home. News about Jesus' miracle spread like a wildfire. And I was known as the boy who gave five barley loaves and two fish to Jesus. Soon, people started visiting our home to meet me as if I had performed the miracle. All who came applauded me for giving to Jesus the food my mother had packed for me. Some of their appreciations sounded as if Jesus would not have performed that miracle if I had not given those five loaves and two fish. While some others even said that Jesus could not have fed the five thousand men and the many more women and children without my giving of the five loaves and two fish.

In my hometown, young people like me were supposed to be quiet when older people talked. So, I tried to remain silent. Then, when some ventured to make me a role model saying, “If you give to Jesus what you have, no matter how little it is, He will multiply it many times more. But, if you don’t give to Jesus what you have, He cannot do anything. It is all in your hands!”, I had to deliberately break my silence.

This is what I uttered:

No! You don’t understand! Yes, it was I who gave Jesus the five loaves and two fish. But, He did not need me or my loaves and fish to perform that miracle. He even gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist. If He desires, He is able to raise up children for Abraham from mere stones.

Don’t you know that He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing? Don’t you know that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father? Don't you know that the earth and the fulness thereof are His, the world and all who dwell therein? Who has ever given a gift to Him that He should repay?

Don’t you know that I saw the Messiah? I beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. I am speechless when I attempt to describe His glory, honor, and power. If you had seen His glory, you would not have spoken like you did.

How can anyone not give all that he has when he sees the Son of God himself? That is simply what I did. I just gave whatever little I had.

After we have done all that we are commanded, has He not instructed us to say “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.”? Is it not, then, right for us to join the Psalmist in saying, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory”?

Because of His great mercy, He used an unworthy vessel like me to bless others. I sacrificed nothing great to be considered a hero. By His grace, I was given the privilege of serving and thereby being a part of this great miracle. I was immensely blessed! I would have pleaded for this privilege!

Are you someone who takes pride in giving your five loaves and two fish for the sake of God and His Kingdom? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

Have you ever beheld His glory? He alone is worthy to receive all glory, honor, and praise. When people refuse to praise Him, He loses nothing for the very stones cry out His praises.

So, give. Give all that you have to Jesus. Don’t hold back. Even if all that is in your hands is just five loaves and two fish, give them all. For what He can do with what you have is immeasurably greater than what you could ever do with what you have. And when you have given your all to Him, give Him alone all the glory for He supplies your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Cheerful,