Christ
could do a whole lot better without us, right? I mean, He put you and
me in charge of evangelism, encouraging others, teaching His word,
raising kids, showing mercy. Sometimes I wish He would just tell me to slide over so He
can drive.
Apparently He gets us involved and actually works through us, to train us and stretch our faith.
Remember
when Christ multiplied the loaves and fishes for the 5000 (and that’s
just counting the men, of course)? He said to the disciples, How many loaves do you have? Go and see (Mark 6:38b). Like you tell a little kid.
Of
course He knew how many loaves they had, and how many fish, and how
many hungry people were milling around. But the process of looking for
resources, finding almost nothing--laughably little compared to the
need--was all part of the training.
Having
the disciples get the crowd seated in groups was part of it. Blessing
and breaking the bread and the fish--that was part of it, too. Then actually feeding all those thousands, followed by the collection of leftovers.
Jesus could have provided manna for the crowd. He did it before, for a vastly superior number and for a much longer period of time. But He chose this way to humble and train His men to trust and depend on Him.
I really admire the Savior for taking the time. I would have given up on me long ago.