A Boy's View

The day was like any other, not wanting to get out of bed.  He voiced his disapproval. A night of long sleep, disturbed by a voice, “Get out of bed you little sleepyhead.” In groaning and in disgust he gets out of bed. Only a few minutes more he wished in his head.

It does not mention exactly what this boy had to do for the day. It does not mention where he had to go. It only mentions where he was at during this particular in his life and what he offered.

“I can’t believe my mother had to wake me up this early. Why can’t she understand that I am a growing boy and I need…my...beauty sleep! Where did I put my bag? Mom, do you know where my war bag at? Never mind mom I found it. Slingshot, check, ammunition, check, knife, check, food, Oh yeah can’t forget that.”

The boy had a vivid imagination and he had to make sure he was prepared for anything that came his way. You never know, today it could be his day to kill a bear, a lion, or a giant. In this case he was hoping to kill all three in one day. He runs into the kitchen and he grabs the stool. He feverishly raids the cabinets for any food he can take with him on his mission. He lifts up a towel and jackpot. He just found the fish jerky. He looks around hoping no one would see him and takes two of the biggest pieces of fish jerky. Near the fire he sees fresh homemade loaves of bread. He dashes towards fire and grabs as many that will fit in his war bag. He took five pieces to be exact because that is all that would fit. “I love you mommy,” he shouts as he runs outside to play.

Being a curious child, curiosity would often get him into trouble from time to time because he was a little bit to imaginative. He would pretend he was he a spy in the land of Jericho and he did his best to overhear the conversations of the adults. Usually the conversations consisted of the men complaining about their wives and politics. The women would complain about their men being lazy.

There was something different about today. The boy was no longer hearing the conversations of complaining men and women. He was hearing stories of awesome things. In his little mind, he wanted to know who they were talking about. He knew it was something big. This time the adults were not trying to shoo him away for being a pretend spy. He followed the adults and as he continued to hear stories of great faith and miracles.

The little boy followed the adults towards the shore. There were people as far as the eye could see. Well not actually, his only view was the person’s backside in front of him because he was so short but, he knew it was lot of people. He was told to shush because He was asking too many questions. Finally someone told the boy it was Jesus and His disciples so he would shut up.

Remember that he was a boy and I am sure that he was not interested in hearing a bunch of adults talk even if it was Jesus and the Disciples. As he starts to walk through the crowd, he imagines that he is a secret agent looking for the enemy. He stops and listens and begins to hear people whispering to each other that they were starting to get hungry.
The boy took pride in knowing that he had prepared himself for whatever came his way. The boy knew the adults should have prepared themselves as well. Inside his war bag was the rations of food he would eat on his missions.

The boy hears a Disciple shout if anyone had food. The boy knew that this was not just anyone asking so he raised his hand. An adult nearby slapped his hand and scolded him for being disrespectful. The boy pressed through the crowd knowing he had something to offer and he had a new mission. He had to give what he had to the disciple.

As the boy pressed deeper in the crowd it became increasingly difficult for him. The adults were giving him dirty looks and telling him to go home because he had no business there. The boy clutched his war bag and knew that he had to complete the mission. His little voice would shout, “I have food.” The adults began to push him back because he was annoying them. In desperation he began to crawl towards the Disciples. He crawled between the legs of adults who kicked him away. Imagine the anger and disgust they displayed because they thought he was a disrespectful little boy was playing.  Just a few more feet the boy thought to himself. Finally he stretched his hand and touched the dusty and dirty feet of a Disciple.

The Disciple was shocked to see such a small hand grabbing his dirty feet. He was annoyed because he was tired, hungry, and now some little hand was tickling his big toe. The boy crawled closer and the crowd around him was now angry because he was touching a Disciple. The Disciple asks the boy what he wanted. The boy in his excitement told the Disciple that he wanted to show him his war bag.

“This is my war bag. I go everywhere with it. I keep my survival things inside. I have a slingshot and lots of ammo. I have my pocket knife in case I have to cut the head off a giant. My momma won’t let me have a sword. She says I am too young. I have my toys and I also have what you have been asking for. I have food. I have two big fish jerky pieces and five loaves of bread my mommy made this morning. “

The Disciple smiled and knew that out of the crowd of five thousand there was one person who came prepared. Although it was a child, someone came prepared. The boy said, “This is all I have to give.” Throughout the day, the boy had heard all the stories of faith of what Jesus and the Disciples had done. The boy knew if Jesus was asking for food he would give Him what everything he had.

The Disciple took the boy to Jesus.  Jesus looks down and looks into the eyes of this child. The boy looked at Jesus in awe and knew something was about to happen. The boy watched Jesus bless the fish jerky and homemade bread. Right before his eyes he saw the blessings of God multiply the food. He hears Jesus tell all of the Disciples to distribute the food to the crowd.

The boy receives his portion of food after Jesus received his and started to walk away. Jesus tells the boy to stop and asks him to come back to him.  Jesus looked at the boy and asks him to eat with him. Jesus thanks the boy and begins to talk to him.

“You were the only one out of the five thousand that I could use. You came prepared. It did not matter what people said or did, you still pressed on. You gave me all you had. I took what seemed to be nothing and made it into something. All those who tried to stop you are now looking at you because they wish that they were in your position of blessing. I never asked for much. I just asked if anyone had food. I did not say how much food I needed. There were those who had food in their pockets but they chose to keep it and not give it to me. They forgot what I can do and how I could multiple anything. Everyone is fed because you were willing to give me what you had. I am in the business of blessing those who are willing to make the sacrifices. You sacrificed everything to give me what you had. You sacrificed your time and well being. I showed everyone a great lesson today. Never judge a book by its cover. If you have a desire to be used, I will use you. I will take what you have no matter how small and insignificant. When you go back home, you will be remembered. You made your way into everyone’s heart even if it was through their stomachs. “

The boy had the biggest smile on his face. He was a celebrity in the eyes of the five thousand. Jesus pats the boy on the head and tells him to go home before it gets dark. As the boy walks away, Jesus asks the boy to pass a message to his mother. “Tell your mommy she’s a good cook.”