Gathering unto eternity

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝐻𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠, 𝐺𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡. / 𝑆𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛.(John 6:12-13)

Many believers love to read John 6 because of the miracle Jesus performed to feed the crowds. But actually, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. This section of the Bible gives us a picture of the true gospel, and the process by which both we and the crowds can be satisfied not just by outward miracles, but by eternal life. If we want to have true outreach and gain eternal fruit, we cannot forgo this very process the Lord revealed to His disciples and to us.

❶ 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫. In the beginning of this chapter, the Lord “went away across the Sea of Galilee” and “a great crowd followed Him” because they witnessed physical signs (v. 1-2); what they knew, what they perceived and what they sought was not necessarily the Lord Himself, but the wonders He performed. And what did the Lord do? In verse 3, “Jesus went up to the mountain and sat there with His disciples.” For some reason, throughout His time on the earth, the Lord Jesus never stayed with the crowd, or with the majority. Instead, the Lord chose to go up, making the effort to climb up to higher ground to just “sit there” with his disciples. This already indicates that the Lord was looking for something beyond just the earthly realm.

❷ 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝. “Jesus then lifting up His eyes and seeing that a great crowd was coming toward Him, said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” (v. 5). The Lord was testing Philip, even though “He Himself knew what He was about to do” (v. 6). The question the Lord asked Philip was seemingly very physical. And Philip answered in a very calculating way: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them that each one may take a little” (v. 7). Where did this two hundred denarii come from? The Bible doesn’t tell us, but Philip was very clear on the amount of money and quickly made the judgment that what they had was not enough. How often do we do this? 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲. How can the church in Toledo feed the whole world? We calculate, and before we even do it, we already give up, knowing it is too much for us. But the Lord already “knew what He was about to do.”

Then, following Philip’s failure, Andrew comes in to “help”: “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many?” (v. 8-9). It is interesting that the Bible specifically designates him as Simon Peter’s brother, reminiscent of Peter’s own calculations and failures. A little boy, without name, comes along with five barley loaves and two fish. But in the same way as Philip, Andrew only sees the great need and his own little capacity: “…but what are these for so many?”

We are always calculating. We might think we are poor because we never go through the Lord’s hands. We might think something is impossible because we never trust what the Lord asks us to do. The Lord speaks to us, yet we respond with complicated reasoning. When the Lord asks us something, we immediately throw out a standard, religious answer as an excuse. This is the significance of the two hundred denarii and the disciples’ reasonings.

❸ 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬—𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. “Jesus said, Have the people recline. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men reclined, in number about five thousand’” (v. 10). The reclining is related to the grass—the “much grass.” Actually, He is the one asking us to recline, and He is the place of much grass; He is our rest. This situation took place around the time of the festival of Passover (v. 4), when, according to Jewish law, you should be preparing and eating the unleavened bread, the lamb and the bitter herbs. But here, the Lord is not concerned with the work of the law, but is simply looking for a place that has much grass—a place to recline. Actually, the grass appears throughout the Bible as a very specific place of reclining and satisfaction: David’s song in Psalm 23 shows us that the Lord put us on green pastures to enjoy Him as the rich supply, and in John 10, Jesus tells us that He is our Shepherd and our door to find pasture. The grass is a very specific condition needed for the people to be released from the sheepfold—the law—to the open pastures—to Him as our rest. Worldly people are often in a very different stage of their life; if they are not reclining—not hungry—there’s no way for the Lord to come in to feed them. But to those who are hungry—who are reclining—it is a blessing.

❹ 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬. “Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to those who were reclining; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted” (v. 11). Phillip had failed and Andrew had failed. And yet “the Lord took the loaves”! “Likewise also of the fish”! The Lord Himself distributed the loaves and fish in a very specific manner. The crowds needed to taste something through the Lord’s hands. Sometimes, when we are in a low condition, we might think we are a nobody brother or sister; we only have two fish and five loaves. How could we feed so many people? But then the Lord takes the bread and the fish and sanctifies it. Other times, when we feel good, we may say, “Lord, I can offer something to you.” But that offering still has to go through the Lord. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭. We could never imagine that five loaves and two fish could feed five thousand people. Yet it is a mystery! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬, 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞.

Then, in between this verse and the next verse, very little is said about the actual miracle. Suddenly, the crowds were filled!

❺ 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. “And when they were filled, He said to His disciples, Gather the broken pieces left over that nothing may be lost” (v. 12). What a peculiar thing for the Lord to ask of His disciples! It doesn’t say why we need to pick up the broken pieces, or that the disciples are to eat the broken pieces, or that the broken pieces are for a specific purpose—that He is hungry or that the disciples still need to eat—or even what they did with them or where they took them. What do we do with baskets full of broken, leftover food from other people? He doesn’t say. It is mysterious!

If we look at the process of gathering, however, we can see that 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. There’s a detailed record here of instructions the Lord gave to the disciples: gather the leftover, broken pieces that nothing may be lost. Oftentimes we want to complete a great mission for the Lord, but despise the detailed, very specific instructions the Lord gives; we despise the “broken pieces”—the leftovers. This is a very specific interaction the Lord had with his disciples, not with the crowd. Collecting the twelve baskets was a training to the disciples to see something that the Lord did—not through physical calculations, but in the very process the disciples themselves went through. What an intricate process for the serving ones. We see this in our life of serving, too, when the Lord asks us not just to labor on a physical task, but to thoroughly collect anything left over from the ones being served as our own portion from Him. That is how we pick up all the broken pieces, making sure nothing is lost.

“So they gathered them” (v. 13). This short sentence holds another key: after a major work is done or a miracle is performed, we need to listen to what the Lord wants us to do. Sometimes, we just don’t listen. We hear Him, but we don’t follow His exact instructions. But when the disciples followed through with the Lord’s speaking, they “filled twelve handbaskets”! From a meager five loaves and two fish came enough to feed five thousand people with twelve baskets left over. What an abundance for the disciples to gather and enjoy! What a bountiful harvest from others’ leftovers!

Why exactly twelve baskets? In the Bible, twelve is the number of eternity. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩—𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲; 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦. What a beautiful understanding that what we do today is not before man in the physical realm, but before our Lord in the spiritual realm. He has fed the five thousand people, and all that is left for us to do is to gather twelve baskets full. The leftovers, the memories and experiences of life that constitute and fill His serving ones, are what will be gathered unto eternity. Furthermore, the Bible specifically mentions the gathering of the pieces from the barley loaves, but not from the fish, which signify redemption. In the Jewish land, barley is the first to be harvested, typifying the resurrected Christ. Barley has no mixture—only this very pure, undefiled, regenerated life. What’s left over from the true serving is this eternal life, not anything earthly in nature.

𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠 “𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤,” 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫?” 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤. The leftovers are from other people’s eating, so unless we go out to feed, there are no leftovers and there is no need for any baskets. But even if we present the best serving, at the end, did we go out to pick up the pieces? Did we do what the Lord asked us to do? If we didn’t, then even if there is physical “fruit,” there will be no eternal fruit. That is what kills us: we do everything, but when the Lord tells us to go out to gather the broken, leftover pieces, we think we know better and think the work has already been completed. How tragic it will be if we come to the end of the year and we realize our basket is empty. In other words, we are empty. We are coming to the point in our church life that we are insisting that we cannot just do the physical works without following through to the end of that mysterious gathering process. That is the most important piece that the Lord gives. He doesn’t give us explanation, because it is not a matter of what was physically done or the method for how it was done, but rather a matter of eternal life. And when we obey Him, we find we have twelve baskets full unto eternity.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬? 𝐎𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬? 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐢 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥? One day, our physical world will all disappear; Paul says that our outer man is decaying. But Paul also says that our inner man is being renewed day by day! (2 Cor. 4:16) Our church life has the physical aspect, but even the physical things are not unto the physical world. Ultimately, what remains from our physical life is only the eternal. The remainders are recorded in our eternal memory; there is a recording machine deep inside that will never decay even if our bodies get sick or old. Human beings are very mysterious. When we go through our day, we have to faithfully pick up the leftover pieces; otherwise, why do we go through this earthen living that will perish? We will never forget those moments when we truly engage our life and the people around us with a genuine being, partaking of Him and His supply as our outreach on this earth.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭. We go through our life today—the church life—today and experience a lot of suffering. But the Lord insists that “nothing may be lost.” Today, we are in the field and have been broken by the world. We are sinful. But the Lord says, “It is okay. Pick up the pieces, and gather. I ask you to gather these broken pieces for a reason.” On the Day of Tabernacles, we will go out to gather the baskets—the real, eternal baskets—and deposit their contents into the eternal storage house. And that overflow from our earthen leftovers—those small pieces—will feed us forever.

Today, we are in the middle of the Lord’s basket. What He is asking of us is beyond our capacity. Our scope needs to be changed. Our concept of the gospel needs to be changed. In many perspectives, we are small, calculating, and unbelieving. We don’t have a resolution to feed five thousand. Our scope is a measly two hundred denarii or a few loaves and fish. But 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 “𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤” 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. If we put ourselves into the Lord’s hand and let the Lord bless us, imagine what He can do and supply! If we trust the Lord, why are we barren? The Lord always makes a way for those who are willing to follow His instructions so that He is able to give us the fullness—the overflow unto eternal memory. No one else can gather for us; the basket has to be ours. In reality, 𝐰𝐞 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬! 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲! That’s how powerful we can be. That’s our gospel…we are the gospel!

(𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎 𝑔𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 12/18/2020, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑟.)