John 6:5-14 “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.”

Text Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore . . . that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God”

Here we have a great miracle, because a young lad chose to get involved in what God was doing by giving all! Please notice the source of what he had! When you consider the truth of the matter, the lad didn’t give anything he worked for, paid for, or obtained on his own; the lad simply gave what he had been given! That morning when the lad left home, his mother placed into his hands five barley loaves a two small fishes. Everything that you and I have has been given to us by God and all He is asking for us to do is simply give what we have been given; “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). Notice the specifics of what he had; barley loaves and two small fishes. There isn’t much monetary worth to what the lad had. Barley bread was known as that which was given to the livestock, beggars, and lepers. Barley bread was reserved for the poor. While it did not appear to be much; the lad would give it all. The worth of giving is not in how much you give, but how much you have left (see Mark 12:44). Notice the sufficiency of what he had; the lad’s lunch was enough to perform a physical miracle; five thousand men “were filled” (vs.12), and a spiritual miracle; “those men . . . said, This is . . . that prophet” (vs.14). Have you ever wondered what God could do with you, if you would follow the example of the lad in giving all?