Exodus 12, Luke 9

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - Brandon Hatmaker

"What we leave behind and what we believe."

(Exodus 12)

“And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped.” Vs. 26-27

Legacy. Before I had children, I didn’t think about it much. Legacy is defined as “anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor”.

I think a lot about it now. Not just for my kids, but also in the church. What we do today, the stories we tell, the emphasis we add, impacts tomorrow greatly. Honestly, it impacts today greatly as well. One degree off today may mean two degrees off at the end of our lifetime. But the separation grows even greater with generations to come.

We have to remember God’s faithfulness and mercy. We must tell stories of what God has done. We must tell stories of what God is doing. Not stories of how God fits into our lives, but how our lives fit into Gods plan. God is at work personally as well as corporately in and through the Church. If our response to what He has done is anything but humility, worship, and a desire to share the Good News, maybe we missed the point of Exodus 12 (and the rest of the Bible).

(Luke 9)

“Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here." He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." Vs. 12-13

I felt something new today when reading this scripture. In the past my focus was always drawn immediately to God’s provision as Jesus ends up multiplying the fish and bread. Amazing miracle. Amazing symbolism. This story is just as great today as it was the first day it was told.

But I found myself focusing on the Disciples’ immediate response to Jesus. When Jesus told them to feed the 5000, they answered, “But Jesus, we only have five loaves of bread and two fish…”

We typically think they were saying… it’s not enough, Jesus. But I wonder if they were really saying, “But Jesus, we’re really hungry, and this is our food. That’s barely enough for us twelve”. And to top it off, they reminded Jesus that in order for this to happen, THEY would have to go buy food for the crowd. Why should they have to pick up the tab?

But Jesus gave them a formula to make it happen. It was something bigger than them. It was something certainly God-sized. And they fed 5000 men that day.

Scripture clearly calls us out to live beyond ourselves. As followers of Christ, it is a non-negotiable to put others first. But we already know it goes against our nature. It’s difficult at times to give out of our abundance, even harder when it seems it will take all we have. So many times we are willing to serve others if we can see some benefit of the investment, even if we initially end up going without. How often do we serve when it seems like it will take everything and have no return? This is our lesson of trust, if Jesus calls us to it, he will provide. He will provide, not only for the ones promised, but also for the ones who were obedient. He does it over and over and over again.

When we truly believe this, only then will we let go of what we have. Only then will we give thanks where it is truly due. Only then will we live our lives for the one who provides.

God does not ask us to give away with no hope to be filled ourselves. He just reminds us that our fill comes from Him. In verse 17, it sums up the way our Savior works, “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”

Father, you are our provider. Today, I pray that this is truly our statement of faith. What we have is not because of the work of our hands. Help us to surrender our desire to hold the reigns of provision, and trust only in you. For those of us who look at another as our provider, a boss, a relative, a business, give us perspective God that even for them you have offered provision. Thank you, Lord.