There is a story in 2 Kings 4:42-44 about feeding many people with little food. As we would expect, when the servant saw only twenty loaves of bread and then looked at one hundred hungry people, he hesitated and questioned Elisha. He was told to feed the people. Elisha told him that the Lord had said to do this and to expect there would be leftovers. And yes, this is exactly what happened.
We read of the same theme – the feeding of many with little – in John 6:1-15. Again, there was a large crowd. This time there were two fish, but only five loaves of bread. Just as the servant questioned Elisha, the disciples questioned Jesus when he told them to use to food they had to feed the people. And again, there were leftovers.
Whether it be a servant or a disciple, someone questioned the possibility of ‘little doing much’. How often we question as well. We think of something – a task, a need, a possibility. But then we turn aside – it’s too difficult, too hard, too much. But is it? Maybe God is speaking to us in that thought – urging us, calling us, hoping we will respond. Maybe God wants us to listen and then, to act!