The Plumbline

If you have heard that old saying, "all in the same boat together", then you know it means we are all in the very same precarious situation. For some, the situation is that you are caught in a rapid of sorts, being tossed out of control, with little to know strength left to fight the 'current' of life's woes. You aren't in that boat alone - there are others there, too. Others are in the boat that seems to be taking way too long to get to where you are all going, growing wearier by the day as you endure the challenge of 'rowing' forever. Some might even feel like they have lost their oars and are adrift, being taken wherever the current and winds would take them. Regardless of who you are, you are not in the boat alone - there are others in similar situations, rowing, fretting, tiring just like you.  That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and he...

Do you think God sometimes asks us stuff to see how we will answer? He already knows our response, but I believe he puts it out there because there is something to be learned by us hearing our response. Five loaves and a few fish - will that feed a crowd of over 5,000 men? Not if we only see the loaves and fish for what they are - we need to see them through God's eyes. We see the limits in our answers, but God sees the immense possibilities when we place the 'answers' into his hands.  Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said...