Willing & Inadequate

Sometimes we are willing—we want to make a difference—AND we are completely inadequate.

That combination (willing and inadequate) is where miracles take place.

In the Gospel story of the feeding of the 5,000, there wasn’t enough food available to feed the crowd.

When the disciples reported this to Jesus, he told them to LOOK AGAIN.

Andrew, one of the disciples came back and, said: “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish, but that is not enough for so many people.” (John 6.8 NCV)

Let me paraphrase: Andrew says, “I found a boy who is WILLING to share his food with everyone, but what he has is completely INADEQUATE for what we’re needing.”

Jesus used what the boy was WILLING to share and performed one of the most legendary miracles.

Here’s what I always wonder about this story…

Was there really no one else there that day who brought any food?

I mean, come on—there’s at least 5,000 people there. SOMEBODY must have brought some snacks with them!

Serious. I bet some lady had ketchup packets in her purse.

And how many diaper bags with Goldfish crackers were there that day?

The thing is, nobody else was WILLING.

Whoever had food with them could see, plain as day, what they had was INADEQUATE.

Whatever anyone had was INADEQUATE—but one person was WILLING.

Look, most of us would like to contribute and make a difference… but we don’t bother trying because we know that we are INADEQUATE.

We gotta stop doing that!

WE ARE ALL INADEQUATE.

Miracles happen when we know what we have is INADEQUATE, but we’re WILLING to give it to God anyway.

One boy’s INADEQUATE lunch miraculously fed 5,000 people because he was WILLING to give what he had to Jesus.

Amazing things happen when you are WILLING and INADEQUATE.