Listen

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?”

John 6:8-9

Think

One of my favorite children’s books is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. The book tells the story of the relationship between a boy and a tree. Throughout the story the tree gives what it can as the boy asks for more and more. At every turn, the tree always says “yes” and offers a part of itself to the boy. This image of long-standing relationship from the book The Giving Tree is also a part of the biblical story.

We are called to give what we have, just as the boy with five small loaves and two small fish does. It just so happens that our story with God connects us to an audacious and extravagant creator, willing to take what we offer and multiply it for the good of all. What will we give to God today?

John Uldrick

Pray

God, as I offer my gifts today, multiply them in ways only you can. Help me to trust you with what I can offer and lean into all the ways you multiply my gifts. Amen.

Go

Father, write yourself upon my heart and life – that I may be an open book about you, so that others might read of your unending love on every page. In the name of Jesus, the author of our faith. Amen

Jim Branch in The Blue Book (2016)