Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. John 6:12
One of my routines after every meal is sweeping up the crumbs that have fallen on the floor. With four young kids, there are typically lots of crumbs to gather up, including all the fragments left on their plates. I get frustrated with my kids because of their wastefulness. I find myself repeating the line my mom used with me, “Don’t you know there are starving children around the world?!” I am trying to instill in my kids a gratefulness for food and God’s provision of it.
I have read the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand numerous times, but I have never caught the significance of the leftovers. “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” (John 6:12) Leftovers are valuable and sacred to God. Christ came so that nothing and no one will be lost! Everything and everyone is valuable to Him. He cares about the small fragments and the remnant. The leftovers totalled an equivalent of 12 baskets. An amazing miracle from just five loaves and two fishes.
God could have provided just the right amount in His miracle. He knew there were over five thousand present needing to be fed. Every person mattered, everyone was fed and the food was abounding. In this miracle, God reveals His sovereign hand is providential and abundant. His food is more than enough.
Besides not being wasteful, I am challenged not to miss the fragments in my life or the Bread of Life who supplies them. I want to value those things that Jesus values. He did not see them as leftovers, they were His abundance. He valued them. Leftovers reveal the generosity of His love. I am sacred to Him! You are sacred to Him! Crumbs can be a mess or the blessing of leftovers.
Sacred Fragments
Valuable. Providential. Enough.
How do I see the leftovers in my life? Where can I be less wasteful?