Who do you think of when I say that?
Really think about that person that pops into your mind. How did that one person make a difference? Did he have enough money to feed starving nations? Probably not. Did he take on a dictatorship himself and overcome it to save a nation? Probably not. Did he create thousands of jobs to put the poor to work? Probably not.
That's because there is not anything that one person can do, in and of himself or herself, that cane truly make an impact on the world. We need teamwork, we need God.
But that doesn't mean that God won't still call on us to give up what little we have, even if it really won't make that big of a difference.
In Mark, when a crowd of more than 10,000 gathered to hear Jesus speak and didn't eat for three days, Jesus didn't just feed them by creating food out of nothing. He could have. He had already proved that he could miraculously make food by feeding a crowd of 20,000 a few months before that.
Instead, he turned to the apostles and asked them for the loaves of bread that they had.
Seven loaves.
It wasn't enough to feed the crowd. It wasn't even enough to feed themselves. It wouldn't really help the situation.
Jesus asked for those loaves, and he multiplied them into enough to feed thousands.
He wanted the apostles to give up something though. He wanted them to be invested in helping. He wanted them to do their part. He knew their part wouldn't be enough, but he wanted them to be willing to lay down what little they had first.
I think we often think, "I'm not enough." "I don't have enough." "I can't do enough."
It's true. We can't.
However, I think that God expects us to be willing to give up what we have, who we are, what we do and to lay it at his feet. It won't be enough, but it will show that we're invested. It will show that we want to do what we can.
With that commitment, he can then multiply our offering --- whether it be time, money, talent or whatever --- and he will miraculously multiply it to meet the needs of the people around us, wherever he has planted us.
Next time you don't feel like enough, give it up anyway. See where it takes you.
Maybe you'll reach thousands.
