I See… Feeding Five Thousand

We live in an age of miracles.  When we study the Savior’s life in Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago, it is tempting to turn our faith over to the prison of history; that miracles belong in the past. Most intriguing of all the miracles he wrought was feeding five thousand beleivers who had followed him out to the barren desert place of Bethsaida to sit at his feet and drink in the wisdom of his teachings. He sensed the masses were quickly arriving at that point of diminishing intellectual returns where hunger distracts and overwhelms naturally cognitive abilities to concentrate on the message. After his disciplines scrounged up only five loaves of bread and two fishes, the Savior divided the masses up into groups of 50. Then the miracle occurred. After praying over the food, he had it distributed to the 100 groups of 50, and everyone was filled.

 That was then; this is now.  Last Thursday morning I joined 25 other students and staff at North Carolina State University to pack food bags for starving children in impoverished countries. Stop Hunger Now!, an non-profit organization dedicated to fighting hunger worldwide, had large donations of basic, healthy grains that sustain life and health; corn, rice, soy beans, and more.  The event coordinator, following a divine pattern first exercised by Jesus Christ two thousand years ago, broke us up into teams of five; some teams would fill the bags with grains and vitamin packets, and other teams would weigh, seal, and box the bags for eventual shipment throughout the world.

Then the modern-day miracle occurred. In one hour we assembled 5,000 meals. Just like the Savior, we fed five thousand. We live in an age of miracles.