Welcome to
Zion Bread of Life Christian Church

Sunday, 19th May 2024

Sister Emily Huang

After listening to the sermon about Mother’s Day last week, I felt that being the perfect woman in God’s eyes is really hard. The standards are so high! We are expected to be mothers to all beings and also to become virtuous women. When I look at myself, I feel that I can’t do it. However, as I followed the church’s devotional schedule and listened to the pastor’s morning prayer sharing this week, I gained a new understanding of God. I am very grateful to the pastor for giving me this opportunity to share my insights with all the brothers and sisters here.

Today’s story comes from Matthew 15, where Jesus feeds 4,000 people. Everyone seems to be more familiar with the story of feeding 5,000 with five loaves and two fish because it is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels, apart from Jesus’ resurrection, which shows its significance.

Initially, I thought, the miracle of feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish was already amazing, so is the miracle of feeding 4,000 people not as significant (e.g., the number of people and baskets of leftovers)? What is the meaning of reading this story for me? But after reading the questions in this week’s devotional schedule and reviewing the surrounding scriptures, I realized that this miracle was shown to the Gentiles. Wow! We might take it for granted that God loves the Gentiles, but in the times recorded in the Bible, the Israelites looked down on the Gentiles. In recent months, I have been following the conflict between Israel and Palestine in the Middle East. People of different ethnicities and religions harm each other, and even in the US and around the world, there are protests for their respective causes. It is rare for people of different faiths not to fight, let alone to talk
about love. However, Jesus showed compassion to the Gentiles who came to gather in such a contentious environment.

Regarding these 4,000 Gentiles, Jesus was more compassionate and concerned than the disciples. He took the initiative to mention their needs to the disciples, compared to the previous miracle of feeding 5,000 when the disciples mentioned the crowd’s needs to Jesus on the first evening of the gathering. Yes, people may have biases, misunderstandings, or even ignore us, but God knows our needs. For those who diligently seek Him and yearn for Him, no matter how bad their past or how inadequate their lives, God will not abandon them. Spend more time getting to know God – He is greater than we imagine and loves us more than we think. God not only heals our illnesses but also provides for our physical, mental, and spiritual needs, allowing us to be fully satisfied and able to walk further. Following God is not just about experiencing miracles once or twice; it is a lifelong journey with the Lord.

Similar to the previous miracle of five loaves and two fish, the disciples saw that they had only seven loaves and a few small fish, which was far from enough to feed so many people. Have we ever forgotten God’s power after experiencing His grace, leading us to worry or even doubt Him when we face current difficulties? However, Jesus saw that the Father’s grace is always sufficient, so He gave thanks before the miracle happened.

God’s provision is abundant and overflowing, not only feeding over 4,000 families but also leaving seven baskets full of leftovers. The number seven in the Bible represents completeness. Thank God, His grace is completely abundant. This time, I noticed that the leftover food was collected in “baskets,” which seem to be larger containers than the “baskets” used in the previous miracle of five loaves and two fish. It seems that I really underestimated God before. Who brings baskets to a healing conference or Sunday service? Perhaps those who came “from afar” (Mark 8:3).

Revelation from the baskets: The Gentiles’ longing and humble trust in God – they did not know the God of Israel well, let alone follow His laws, but they simply believed in the power of this God and were willing to follow Him from afar. Even after three days, when their food was completely gone, they gave it all to Him, knowing that He
would not let them leave empty-handed. Today, we may feel that we have nothing left to give. Maybe we initially served the Lord with great enthusiasm but now seem to have no time or energy left.

Maybe we used to shepherd many people but now find them leaving one by one. Maybe we used to earn a lot of money, but now there are more expenses than income. We may see ourselves as completely empty baskets, or like the disciples, feel that we do not have enough.

Maybe you, like me, feel that the standards of the Bible are too high and that you can never achieve His perfection. How do we see the God we know? Is He the one who asks us to give when we feel we don’t have enough? But God wants us to see that if He has such compassion for those Gentiles who do not know Him, how much more compassion does He have for us, His chosen children? Our imperfection does not matter, for He can make us complete. When we do not give up following Him, drawing closer to Him through scripture and His revelations, we will know Him more
deeply and experience His grace more abundantly. God’s love is vast and deep, and it will fill us.

Bring your seemingly empty baskets to God, and you will experience His abundance beyond what you can ask or imagine, enough to share with others.