God's Work, Our Hands

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
 ¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
 ¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.   ¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.-Matthew 14:15-21


The key phrase in the scripture above is "You give them something to eat" and the key word is "you."  Jesus did not say, "Watch while I feed them" .... not, "Pray and then walk away."  The disciples did the actual work of making sure the food got into the hands of the hungry.


I love how the book of James takes our Christian motives to task.  It makes us think about how we live out our faith.  In James 2, the writer asks, "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?"  How often do we pray for the needs of another but do absolutely nothing to help them?


The purpose statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is, "God's work, our hands."  Perfect.  And we see this in the Lutheran Disaster Response team. People from FEMA have told these folks, "We love Lutherans!  You stick around until the job is completed!"  And they do.  They set up offices in the disaster stricken area and stay until the last nail is driven... the last mop wrung out... the last child inoculated.


There is an inherent "danger" in praying for others.  God may just lay it on our hearts to be his hands to do his work in answering those prayers.  But that is what true abundant life is about.  Abundant life is not about having an abundance of things, but about having an abundance of experiences in living, doing, giving.  


Don't just watch while others carry out God's miracles.  Be a part of it!  


Father,
Help us to be about your work.  We want to really live and be a part of the miracle and not merely watch it.  Amen.


Joys:  A little pampering today... hair and nails :) ; new babies... so exciting! ; local leaves starting to color