The Great Multiplier – Little is Much When God is in It

I love hearing my youngest grandson rattle off his multiplication tables. It reminds me of when I learned to multiply as a child. I have used that knowledge many times over the years. 9x9=81; 6x7=42; 8x3=24 – I just did that and I didn’t even need a calculator! LOL!

I was thinking about the example of multiplication when Jesus sent the disciples out to find food to feed the crowd of over 5,000 men, plus women and children. This story always astounds me, because here we are in this 21st century with a restaurant or a fast food franchise on almost every corner and to come up with meals to feed that many in a short measure of time would be impossible. But, then enters the GREAT MULTIPLIER. They are in the middle of nowhere and the crowd is hungry. Of course, the first thing the disciples think and say “Send them home, Lord, so they can eat!” Now if that were today, we’d at least have a power bar or a little snack to tide us over. But those folks were thinking one thing: “Jesus of Galilee is there and He can heal us, restore us, bring freedom to our hearts and souls.” Jesus’ response was “See if there is any food in the crowd, and it turned out that a Mom packed her LITTLE boy a LITTLE lunch to tide him over and that lunch was the LITTLE that Jesus needed for the crowd -- five loaves of bread and two fish.

“Bring them here to me,” Jesus said. And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children." (Matthew 14:13-21). WOW! (Food for Thought: Where did those baskets come from? Maybe the little boy carried his lunch in a basket, and Jesus even MULTIPLIED the baskets??)

Co-partnering with the disciples and that LITTLE boy, Jesus was able to feed the masses by MULTIPLYING what LITTLE they had on hand. He is the Master MULTIPLIER. Just as He multiplied the LITTLE that day for that massive crowd, today, we are the chosen partners He uses. Imagine that little boy's story the rest of his life? Jesus used ME! He takes LITTLE and makes BIG out of it. "Little is much when God is in it!"

A LITTLE shepherd boy, David, with a LITTLE sling and stone – took down a GIANT. “Little is much when God is in it.” Do you feel LITTLE today? Do you have LITTLE to give God? It doesn't matter how large or small, when we give our time, our talents and our treasure to God, He will MULTIPLY it. What if, today, we present Him with what we have? Maybe a LITTLE prayer, a LITTLE donation, a LITTLE kind word, a LITTLE love, a LITTLE comfort, a LITTLE care, a LITTLE meal, a LITTLE act of service. No matter what the LITTLE is – as God's partners, our LITTLE just might be what God uses to multiply many blessings to others. Maybe inviting someone to dinner today or giving away items we no longer need, or taking a meal to someone. It may seem little to us, but BIG to them. Yes, little becomes BIG when we accept our partnership with our Master MULTIPLIER! LITTLE is much when God is in it.