Mark 8: 17-21
Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Yesterday, as I read this story in Mark 8, it dawned upon me that Mark records both the feeding of the 5000 and 4000! Somehow, I always felt (wrongly I know) that they were the same story, just different interpretations from different authors of the gospels.
What's astounding to a casual reader would be the response of the disciples during the feeding of the 4000. Since this happened after the feeding of the 5000, and given Jesus' short 3.5 years ministry, surely the disciples would have remembered how Jesus was able to miraculously provide food using 5 small barely loaves and 2 fish. Yet, it was not so when the incident happens. Somehow, having experienced the great miracle once, they failed to grasp that Jesus can likewise continue to do the same miracle for the 4000.
Now, after reading the verses, it dawned upon me that I'm no better than the disciples. For all the lack of faith or blindness that I can point out of the disciples, I can likewise spot the same issue in my life.
In 1999, I waited for 1 year for God to provide me with a job. It was a year of waiting in fear as the dot.com bubble busted. From a period of waiting, it became panic as the months passed 6 months. However, all went well when I found myself employed in a job that eventually got me directed me to pursue my love for marketing. Similarly, in today's context, having lost my job, and applying for tons of jobs over the past 4 months, I'm faced with a situation where I have replies and still am wondering what is happening. Days like today, I have no appointments so I end up stoning at home and can say it does drive me nuts as I ponder of why my life is turning out like this. (whining moments of life)
How very feeble and small minded for us to have such a weak grasp of God's godliness. Yet, how good is God to not get frustrated and give up on us even when we don't see to understand that He is always more than able.
You see, the God who fed the 5000, also fed the 4000 with excess to spare. Excess that I believed pointed to His abundance. Somedays we really need to cry out, Lord help my unbelief!
He is more than able, amen.
M.
08 May 2014
We may see but not understand
Mark 8: 17-21
Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Yesterday, as I read this story in Mark 8, it dawned upon me that Mark records both the feeding of the 5000 and 4000! Somehow, I always felt (wrongly I know) that they were the same story, just different interpretations from different authors of the gospels.
What's astounding to a casual reader would be the response of the disciples during the feeding of the 4000. Since this happened after the feeding of the 5000, and given Jesus' short 3.5 years ministry, surely the disciples would have remembered how Jesus was able to miraculously provide food using 5 small barely loaves and 2 fish. Yet, it was not so when the incident happens. Somehow, having experienced the great miracle once, they failed to grasp that Jesus can likewise continue to do the same miracle for the 4000.
Now, after reading the verses, it dawned upon me that I'm no better than the disciples. For all the lack of faith or blindness that I can point out of the disciples, I can likewise spot the same issue in my life.
In 1999, I waited for 1 year for God to provide me with a job. It was a year of waiting in fear as the dot.com bubble busted. From a period of waiting, it became panic as the months passed 6 months. However, all went well when I found myself employed in a job that eventually got me directed me to pursue my love for marketing. Similarly, in today's context, having lost my job, and applying for tons of jobs over the past 4 months, I'm faced with a situation where I have replies and still am wondering what is happening. Days like today, I have no appointments so I end up stoning at home and can say it does drive me nuts as I ponder of why my life is turning out like this. (whining moments of life)
How very feeble and small minded for us to have such a weak grasp of God's godliness. Yet, how good is God to not get frustrated and give up on us even when we don't see to understand that He is always more than able.
You see, the God who fed the 5000, also fed the 4000 with excess to spare. Excess that I believed pointed to His abundance. Somedays we really need to cry out, Lord help my unbelief!
He is more than able, amen.
M.
Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Yesterday, as I read this story in Mark 8, it dawned upon me that Mark records both the feeding of the 5000 and 4000! Somehow, I always felt (wrongly I know) that they were the same story, just different interpretations from different authors of the gospels.
What's astounding to a casual reader would be the response of the disciples during the feeding of the 4000. Since this happened after the feeding of the 5000, and given Jesus' short 3.5 years ministry, surely the disciples would have remembered how Jesus was able to miraculously provide food using 5 small barely loaves and 2 fish. Yet, it was not so when the incident happens. Somehow, having experienced the great miracle once, they failed to grasp that Jesus can likewise continue to do the same miracle for the 4000.
Now, after reading the verses, it dawned upon me that I'm no better than the disciples. For all the lack of faith or blindness that I can point out of the disciples, I can likewise spot the same issue in my life.
In 1999, I waited for 1 year for God to provide me with a job. It was a year of waiting in fear as the dot.com bubble busted. From a period of waiting, it became panic as the months passed 6 months. However, all went well when I found myself employed in a job that eventually got me directed me to pursue my love for marketing. Similarly, in today's context, having lost my job, and applying for tons of jobs over the past 4 months, I'm faced with a situation where I have replies and still am wondering what is happening. Days like today, I have no appointments so I end up stoning at home and can say it does drive me nuts as I ponder of why my life is turning out like this. (whining moments of life)
How very feeble and small minded for us to have such a weak grasp of God's godliness. Yet, how good is God to not get frustrated and give up on us even when we don't see to understand that He is always more than able.
You see, the God who fed the 5000, also fed the 4000 with excess to spare. Excess that I believed pointed to His abundance. Somedays we really need to cry out, Lord help my unbelief!
He is more than able, amen.
M.
