There’s a familiar story in the Bible of Jesus feeding a crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children, with only five loaves of bread and two fish. It’s a truly miraculous event–a scenario which Jesus uses to test the faith of His disciples. The Gospel of John includes one critical piece that is often, if not always, overlooked:

Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

John 6:5-14

I want to talk about the boy in verse nine from whom Jesus obtains the five barley loaves and two fish.

The Word of God teaches us we ought to contribute something of value to society; the world promotes the same idea but convinces us we must earn money (generate income) in the process in order to have value. These are two very different things.

The boy in this miraculous story of Jesus isn’t paid for his bread and fish (that we know of). He doesn’t go on to write a book or start a ministry that requires him to give an accounting of how many people he reaches or how many dollars he raises (that we know of). We don’t even know his name. In fact, his presence isn’t recorded in the other three Gospels. But John, whose focus is primarily on the divinity of Jesus and of knowing God through relationship with His son, chooses to include the boy.

We can only assume, though we are not told, that the boy, too, eats as much as he wants. We are not told that the boy receives a double portion for his contribution. Nowhere does John mention the boy’s resentment of sharing what little he has with those who come unprepared or have nothing with which to feed themselves. We are not told, though we can readily accept, that this boy, like all those who are changed that day, walks away profoundly transformed at having been invited into playing an active part in the miracle.

The boy is there. He has some food. He shares it. That’s his ministry. Jesus takes that small and seemingly insignificant contribution from a random nobody from nowhere and does something mind blowing with it. That’s what Jesus does. And the people have “as much as they wanted,” and the people believed in Him (v12; 14).

John includes the boy in this account to demonstrate how Jesus intentionally works miracles through each of us, every day, if we are willing to show up, hear, and respond. Yahweh does not need us to do miracles. He chooses to include us, and this story illustrates how we are supposed to respond to God’s promises to provide for us all we need. I know of no verse in scripture where God tells us the check is in the mail. He does tell us to trust, have faith, and love one another. His provision–and the work or ministry He calls us to–doesn’t always look the way we think it should, the way our modern world has conditioned us to expect: preceded by dollar signs and followed by zeroes; instant (or even eventual) fame and recognition; titles and positions; peace and tranquility; beauty and ease. Sometimes it does. But not always.

Most of the time, God’s provision and calling look more like morning visits to the beach with chattering little girls playing in the waves while you enjoy conversations with a friend–about nothing, something, or everything–that you’re not even aware you need. At other times, they look like long miles in running shoes with time to pray and praise and then a seemingly random collection of people in the middle of the Pacific Ocean who’ve all been called to share the same adventure. Later on, God’s blessings take on the form of housemates who bring musical instruments and dogs, laughter and prayers. They can show up as dented cargo containers that used to belong to your dad but are now (surprise!) yours just when you desperately need the gift. They can look like moments of deep confusion, depression, and anxiety while you work through an ALS diagnosis or tears of relief following a cancer scare. Jesus can show up with questions from someone you never thought would ask about your faith, around the kitchen table over beers, because they too have reached a place of utter emptiness, frustration, and need.

The point is this: God’s provision can be in the form of giving or receiving, something large and significant or something ridiculously unremarkable to the human mind. Sometimes the part we play is small and goes entirely unnoticed and unmentioned by people but is neither accidental nor overlooked by our God. We arrive in this life flawed and broken and beautiful and in His image. He uses all of it to shape us more closely into who He is and who He created us to become–if we are willing to show up and give all we have been given to Jesus so He can work miracles through us and for us.