I love my wife’s tuna salad so much that she has to use a whole can of tuna just for me; one can all for me and one split between her and Bekah. But really tuna salad goes a long way. That little boy, who brought five barley loaves and two fish, must have brought tuna. What other fish can you spread out among 5000 men and their families? (Read the story in John 6:1-14) 

***Denominational note: obviously this crowd was not Baptist. A Baptist crowd would not have gathered like this unless there was a pot-luck or covered dish meal already planned! ***

Can you imagine what it was like to be that little fellow? Maybe his lunch box originally contained more than the bread and fish. Maybe he didn’t care for them and they were just the leftovers. But whatever the case, he made his lunch box contents available and it was enough for Jesus to use. How must it have felt for the Master to take his leftovers and perform such an amazing miracle? Imagine what was going through his mind as he watched his lunch – only multiplied by the hand of God – pass through the crowd until everyone ate all they could hold and still leave 12 baskets of leftovers.

We can learn a valuable lesson from this kid about allowing God to use us. First we see the simplicity – he gave what he had. The boy could have rationalized that all he had was stinky fish and stale bread. He could have reasoned that no one in the crown that day would be interested in what he had; it just wasn’t as good as food at some of the other gatherings he attended. We may find it easy to compare ourselves to others and think we have little or nothing to offer, but all God asks is that we bring to Him the “us” He created. The only ability we need to have is availability.

But we also see the commitment – he gave all he had. He didn’t “share” his lunch, he handed it over, all of it. He could have held back a little for himself, but instead he placed it all in Jesus hands. And here is the amazing thing about that – Jesus didn’t need five loaves and two fish. Jesus could have performed the miracle without anything from the boy. The boy could have reserved a fish and piece of bread for himself, and Jesus still would have been able to feed the crowd with four loaves and one fish. But when the boy gave up all his lunch, in return he received a stomach full much bigger than he would have gotten had he eaten just the 2 fish and 5 loaves. When Jesus used what the boy brought, the boy received a blessing and became a blessing to others because of it.

If Jesus wants to make tuna salad out of you, the only ingredient he needs is YOU . . . ALL OF YOU.