Nothing Wasted!!

Five thousand hungry men ate, as well as many of their wives and children.  The meal had been amply supplied by Jesus’ blessing and multiplication of a young boy’s lunch.  What is interesting is that as God often does, He gave beyond the need, and there were leftovers!  Twelve baskets full of leftovers!  And Jesus told His disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”  I’m sure twelve baskets of leftovers would never fit in my refrigerator, regardless of the size of the baskets, so what were the pieces and scraps used for?  Well, perhaps like we sometimes do, some of the leftovers went home with those who had already been fed to provide for the immediate days ahead.  Or, perhaps the disciples saw a ready provision for their own needs that would be there after this meal had been fully digested.  Maybe there was a local synagogue outreach that used them, or they were distributed to some of the homebound in the area.  Perhaps the young boy who had given his lunch was eager to provide proof to his mom of the story he was going home to tell her.  Whatever the reason for saving all the leftovers, Jesus did not want them wasted, and that is sooo much like God!

Romans 8:28 also reminds us that God does not waste the things that touch our lives.  “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”  Nothing in our lives – absolutely nothing! – is wasted within the purposes God has.  Every thread, whether brilliant in its display of color or dark with the sorrows and difficulties of life, finds itself woven into a tapestry that reflects God’s purposes.  A closer look though at Romans 8:28 reveals it has a future context.  Yes, in our todays, and especially if we walk this earth for a number of decades, we may well see God’s purposes displayed in our personal lives, weaving the threads of our yesterdays together.  I had an aptitude for math during my school days, an aptitude that has sharpened my thinking skills, but other than that, had shown little purpose in my life until I was asked to teach math to junior highers at our Christian school for several years – a task I not only enjoyed, but found myself capable of undertaking those many, many years after high school graduation.  More importantly though, the weavings of the death of a newborn, the dark threads of sexual abuse and dysfunction, the difficulties of emotional struggles, even these and so many other threads that represent the happenings of my life, have not been wasted!! God has used them for His glory, for the touching of the lives of others, for spiritual growth in my own life, and for reasons and purposes I am assured I still do not fully comprehend!  Nothing wasted!  Every thread given intentional purpose that flows from the heart of my Father, even when those threads were formed by the imperfections of our world.  Some though will wait for that future unveiling of God’s purposes.  Some will wait for the giant canvas of history, a history God has actively participated in, and a canvas that will display the “much” God hasn’t wasted.  For now, we trust His heart and His love, and we walk forward with a certainty that in whatever touches our lives, God steps into it, and because He doesn’t abandon us, even in the muck, He doesn’t allow anything to be wasted.

                                                                                – Bev


(Related Bible reading: John 6:4-14)