My Heart... His Words

Matt. 14:17

"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.

I read this passage and I can't help but think of our recent yard sale for the Mid-India Christian Mission..........Some may have thought,

"We have only people's discarded items."

At first glance, it looked liked rooms and rooms of simply unwanted "things."

But I think God loves the word "only."

It's almost as if the challenge is set before Him and He is ready to work!

So, He takes discarded items and creates......

treasures for new families
funds for an orphanage
bonding time for friends who spent the days together preparing
an opportunity for different church families to work as one

and

now today......

an opportunity to help restore life for a family with four children whose life was changed earlier this week by the loss of their home to a fire.

I just love God.

Then I think of how He created man "only" from dust.

And how He told Abraham to take his "only son" to Moriah where he was supposed to offer him as a sacrifice

And how He split the Red Sea with "only" a simple man and his staff

And how He saved Rahab by using "only" a red scarf

And on and on and on.........God works through "only"s

Then the best part comes........He gave us a way to spend eternity with Him by giving His and one "only" Son.

Wow!

And because of this we have Hope!!!

And the "only" in this passage is one we don't have to worry about! I am so thankful!

I Corinthians 15

¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²²For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

We have hope in Christ beyond this life!

Not "only" in this life!

That's what I cling to in my grief! I hope you cling to that too.