Can the Savior Multiply Our Offerings Today?

My Come, Follow Me studies for this week took me to Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6 and a lesson titled “Be Not Afraid.” The counsel preceding this lesson was to “look for truths that are meaningful to you. You might ask yourself questions such as ‘How do the accounts in these chapters relate to me?’ ‘What messages do I find for my life?’ or ‘What would I like to share with my family or with others?’” The introduction to the lesson is as follows. 

What could have inspired Peter to leave the safety of his boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee during a boisterous storm? What led him to believe that if Jesus could walk on water, he could too? We can’t know for certain, but perhaps Peter understood that the Son of God came not just to do wonderful things for the people but to empower people like Peter to do wonderful things too. Jesus’s invitation, after all, was “Come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). Peter had accepted this invitation once, and he was willing to accept it again, even if it meant facing his fears and doing something that seemed impossible. Perhaps the Lord will not ask us to step out of a boat in the middle of a storm or contribute our meager supply of bread when thousands need to eat, but He may ask us to accept directions even when we don’t fully understand them. Whatever His invitations to us may be, they may sometimes seem surprising or even frightening. But miracles can happen if we, like Peter, will set aside our fears, our doubts, and our limited understanding and follow Him in faith.

As with most scripture blocks, this lesson included numerous principles. The principle that I feel prompted to discuss tonight is “The Savior can magnify my humble offerings to accomplish His purposes.” The principle is discussed in the following scriptures: Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:33-44; John 6:5-14. We will first look at the three scripture blocks themselves because they each have different details.

15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

18 He said, Bring them hither to me.

19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. (Matthew 14:15-21)

 

33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:

36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.

40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

42 And they did all eat, and were filled.

43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.

44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

(Mark 6:33-44)

 

5 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?

6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,

9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 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.

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

13 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.

14 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. (John 6:5-14)

Most of us have been in situations where we felt inadequate to meet all the needs that we see around us – in our own lives, in our families, or in our society. The disciples of Jesus Christ surely felt inadequate when He asked them to feed more than five thousand hungry people – especially since there were only five loaves of bread and two fish available.

The story in the scriptures is about how Christ multiplied food. Remember, this is the same Man who turned water into wine and calmed the wind and the waves. Since He has control over everything, there is no reason why He cannot multiply our efforts and offerings when we are trying to do His will.

Sister Michelle D. Craig said, “You and I can give what we have to Christ, and He will multiply our efforts. What you have to offer is more than enough – even with your human frailties and weaknesses – if you rely on the grace of God” (“Divine Discontent,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 54).

I know that Jesus Christ has the power to multiply our efforts, and I know that He does help us after everything that we can do. I started college classes in 2015 at the age of 70 because I felt prompted to do so. There have been many times when I felt incapable of doing the work, but I continued to pray and to work to accomplish what I felt God wanted me to do. I will soon be a university senior, and I have a 3.99 GPA. God has multiplied my efforts and blessed my brain that I could learn and remember the necessary information.