A Second Question

Out there on a mountain near the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus found Himself being followed by five thousand folks.  They were out there with Him because of the way He had healed the sick.  Even before they all got where Jesus was sitting, He was wondering about a rather mundane and ordinary matter, "Where are we going to buy bread for these people to eat?"  (John 6:5)  Since the question was directed to Philip, he was the one who answered saying that six months of wages would not be enough.  While Philip saw the impossibility of feeding everyone, Andrew had noticed a boy who had five loaves and two fish.  "But what are they among so many people?"  (John 6:9)     

The Scripture tells us that Jesus had a plan.  His question was only designed to test the disciples.  With their answers Philip and Andrew revealed themselves to be "in the box" thinkers.  Their response to Jesus' question was framed by logic, their understanding of how things worked, and the realities within which folks lived.  There was no room within their answer for anything which pointed toward an attitude of faith in Jesus.   

When faced with our own set of difficulties, we often end up going the same way as did those two pragmatic disciples.  Our own "in the box" thinking which hinders a faith response is often revealed in our praying about the difficulties we face.  Most of the time we have something figured out that God can do which would bring us to a better place.  We know what can and cannot be done and we are quick to tell God what would work best for us.  Jesus calls us to let Him have a free hand to do with us and our problems in whatever way He might choose to do.