Feeding the people

When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." (Jesus) said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over --twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Matthew 14:13-21


There were some men working on our house today. At about noon, we were getting ready for lunch. Having been talking to the two men outside, my dad comes in telling my mom that we are inviting them for lunch. My mom begins to prepare two extra plates. Without checking to see if there would be enough of the chicken my mom was making, she went ahead and prepared those plates.
Afterwards, my mom was telling me about how my uncle, her brother, was always doing the same thing. He is always welcoming people and sharing what little he may have with them to help them. Once he shared so much that in the end there was no food left for him. Yet he was full. It sounds cheesy, but we are always so much more full after helping someone. I'm always full of energy or full of just plain happiness after having helped someone, especially multiple someones.
It's in this bible verse that we witness the truth of aiding others. It's simple. No questions need to be asked, no numbers added. Now, Jesus knows we can't go and feed thousands with such little food. However, us helping with such little food, such little a gesture, can turn into feeding thousands, helping millions. It's as easy as just smiling at that person at the mall or in the hallway. (better than pretending to awkwardly look at the ceiling or the wall next to you, no?) In this verse, Jesus starts a chain reaction by blessing the loaves, passing them to his disciples who in turn shared it with the people. You can be like Jesus. You can be the one to start the chain reaction.