Broken

Matthew 15:30-38 (New Living Translation)
30 A vast crowd brought him the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with physical difficulties, and they laid them before Jesus. And he healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking around, and those who had been blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the road."

33 The disciples replied, "And where would we get enough food out here in the wilderness for all of them to eat?"

34 Jesus asked, "How many loaves of bread do you have?"

They replied, "Seven, and a few small fish."

35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

37 They all ate until they were full, and when the scraps were picked up, there were seven large baskets of food left over! 38 There were four thousand men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children.

We need help -- we who long only to sit at the Master's feet and be taught, healed, touched and loved. We who are so weary and tired of the fighting within the church and the laxness and deadness within the church. We who seek shelter from the gunfire of false doctrine which peppers our backs. We need care. We are hungry, we are lost.

His sheep cry out. Because we are in the wilderness.

We do not see the church doing any good. We do not see our body doing anything but squabbling amongst ourselves; opening our doors to things the Gospels said we never should; casting about absurd notions that are of no consequence and so far away from the Gospel they must be called something else... but aren't; evil masquerading as love in the name of "correct doctrine"; making our body a sorry pariah to outsiders.

"Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." If we bring Him what we have, however little, even our broken pieces, He can feed whole flocks. Even the dusty and dirty pieces we've gathered in this wilderness. Even if we don't have "faith" that it will make any difference. Even if it hasn't been blessed by prophecy, had hands laid on it or been anointed with oil. Even if we never see results.

Just offer it up. There will be no screaming and shouting, rolling on the floor, wailing in tongues or falling out in the fleshly spirit. Offer it up. Keep walking. Shut out the voices of destruction. Shake the dust off your sandals and keep moving. Even in the hot sun. Even in the dry heat. Even in circles. There might not be much. The landscape may not change. You might not feel God walking beside you. You may get sick of eating manna. But there will always be enough.

Bring Him your broken pieces; your mustard seed, your pinch of yeast... your tiny flickering flame. "The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."