Smart Phones and Not-So-Smart People

I did it. I finally jumped on the band wagon and got a smart phone and with it I learned a few lessons. It turns out that, when you have a smart phone, you have to hook it up to the internet or 4g a fair amount of the time for it to run effectively. Seems pretty stupid to me. I get it, I realize it's a tiny computer that needs to update, but I have a fear of overages that has made me pretty stingy with my 4g. At least, I was stingy until my phone decided it didn't really want to run until it updated twenty-seven programs. Yeah, I learned my lesson. I now realize that my phone needs to return to it's power-updating source if it is to be any use at all. Put this all aside for a second and travel with me to a pretty well-known Bible story that knocked me over when I read it with a new understanding. 

I was hanging out in Matthew recently and read about Jesus feeding the four thousand. You've probably heard the story. Jesus has been traveling around, bringing some heat, correcting confused hearts and loving on the broken. He stops on a mountain and does some miracles and then has compassion on his followers and tells his disciples he doesn't want to send them away hungry. The disciples are still a little slow on the pick up and start to wonder where they could possibly get enough food to feed all the people. They scrounge together seven loaves of bread and some fish and "then [Jesus] took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people" (Matthew 15:36). I just so happened to look that verse up in a commentary and pretty much had my mind blown. Bear with me here, because my ESL teacher side is about to come out.

The verb "gave" in that verse is in the Imperfect tense. And that is just a fancy word that says the action kept happening for an extended period of time in the past. To put it as simply as I can: Jesus kept giving. I think every time I've read that story, I assumed that he broke the bread and bam, there were baskets overflowing with bread ready for the disciples to hand out. But no, the disciples would take some bread from Jesus, hand it out, and then return to him for more. That is astoundingly beautiful and powerful to me because it is something we usually forget. 

I think we often start down a path God wants us on and assume he's filled our basket. We take off on the journey and forget to come back to him. Because of this attitude, we burn out; we have nothing left to give. Only when we return to God to be filled by him, can we offer anything to others. Only when we are filled by Him can we be emptied properly and fully take part in the plan he has for us. So remember to return to the true source of life. Live in him always, but when you're feeling especially empty, poured out, and exhausted by the plan he has for you, remember that Jesus keeps on giving. Be smart enough to get updates. There is no need to fear overages because Jesus "fills everything in every way" (Ephesians 1:23). So stay plugged in constantly and be encouraged. He kept on giving so you can do the same.