TWO BOYS TRUSTING

Two Boys Trusting, Internet Domain

I only recently made the connection between two boys of the Bible. Both of their stories were so outstanding that they have endured for over 2,000 years and have been retold countless times throughout the ages. One of these boys of the Old Testament became a great king whose name lives on to this day and the other boy of the New Testament remains nameless.

The young shepherd boy David was bringing food to his Israelite brothers who were fighting the Philistines. David had brought his three oldest brothers ten loaves of bread, ten cheeses and some roasted grain. When he arrived at the battle scene he encountered the giant Goliath who was over nine feet in height with armor weighing over one hundred pounds. The giant had been demanding a mano a mano fight with a warrior from King Saul’s army for forty days during an impasse of battle, but all of the men were afraid of him. Goliath then continued to insult the army of the Living God and the God who had been with David when he had successfully defended his sheep from both a lion and a bear. David took the challenge and placed his trust in his God. He only had a small sling and five smooth stones in his pouch as he approached the giant. But he killed the giant with one quick stone flung into Goliath’s forehead.

Jesus was preaching on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to a multitude of over 5,000 people who had come to hear his living words. Many in the crowd were quite probably pilgrims from the surrounding countryside who were on their way to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. Included in this vast gathering of humanity was another young boy. This boy had been listening to the teachings of Jesus and was unhampered by the bias and filters of his older adult journeymen. The disciple Philip didn’t think it would be humanly possible to feed the people as Jesus had instructed. Nevertheless, Andrew brought the small boy to Jesus when he had offered his five loaves and two fish. Jesus knew the trust in the boy’s heart and he took the small offering and blessed it over a large rock outcropping near the sea. The large multitude then ate their fill with food left over.

It’s interesting to consider what might have happened on those two miraculous days over 2,000 years ago if the young boys bearing bread had NOT put their trust in the Bread of Life. These occasions might have never been recorded for us. And there’s no telling how many miracles the world is denied when humans do not step forward into action with God at their side. Thankfully, miracles did not stop at the end of God’s first covenant with the Israelites or at the end of Jesus’ three year ministry. We can still enable miracles all around us with a firm trust in the Living God of the Universe as he joins us when we seize the initiative!