The Meaning of Our Contributions

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:44 pm Post subject: The Meaning of Our Contributions

The Meaning of Our Contributions

Scripture:

And a certain man came from Baalsalisa bringing to the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty leaves of barley, and new corn in his scrip. And he said: Give to the people, that they may eat. And his servant answered him: How much is this, that I should set it before a hundred men? He said again: Give to the people, that they may eat: for thus says the Lord: They shall eat, and there shall be left. So he set it before them: and they ate, and there was left according to the word of the Lord. (2 Kings 4:42-44)

I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on them that were diseased. Jesus therefore went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes, and seen that a very great multitude comes to him, he said to Philip: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

And this he said to try him; for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him: Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him: There is a boy here that has five barley loaves, and two fishes; but what are these among so many? Then Jesus said: Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand.

And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down. In like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would. And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost. They gathered up therefore, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above to them that had eaten. Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: This is of a truth the prophet, that is to come into the world. Jesus therefore, when he knew that they would come to take him by force, and make him king, fled again into the mountain himself alone. (John 6:1-15)

Reflection:

There are times we are uncertain as to whether we have the ability to make a difference. We may be tempted to believe that our contribution means little, therefore, there is no meaning to our giving. We must trust, though, that from what we are able to give, the blessings of the Lord shall be spread. As we have seen through those who have responded to His call, He will multiply that which must be multiplied, but His desire is that we make the choice to participate in the blessings of His work.

We may not be wealthy, for that is not the gift God has bestowed upon us. We may be lacking in talents, for those are gifts God has granted to others. We must trust, though, God created us for a purpose and that He has created within us the talents we will need to respond to His call. In prayer we should listen to where He seeks to guide us. We must listen to understand where we may contribute the gifts and talents He has bestowed upon us so that we may share in the blessings of His work. We must trust that through our contribution, a soul in need shall be blessed. While we may not always have the ability to contribute the wealth of the world, we will always have that which we can contribute from the wealth of the soul.

From the contribution of five barley loaves and two fish received from one boy, Jesus was able to feed the five thousand gathered. As the disciples assessed the challenge before them, they did not see how the contribution of the boy could have any meaning in the face of such a multitude; they did not see a solution for they saw the problem before them as people see, not as God sees.

As we observe the world, we are tempted to believe there is nothing we can do, we do not have any means or capability to make a difference, so we do not contribute of what we have and we leave His work to another. If we give credence to these thoughts, we give in to the evil one. This is the way Satan neutralizes us. He fills us with doubt and disillusionment as to our skills and abilities. He entices us to give up before we ever try.

If we have doubt as to what we can accomplish, we must remember what Jesus was able to do with the contribution of the boy. Do we believe He would do any less with us? But if we do not step forward, if we do not volunteer, we tell Him that we do not trust He can multiply our meager means. If we find ourselves tempted to ask, what difference can we make, we should ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us, for He will guide our hearts to what we may do to contribute to provide blessings for those in need.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier