An All You Can Eat Plan
By Joel Pridmore
In June I spent several days at a conference in a remote part of Pembrokeshire and for the most part had no mobile phone connection and no access to Wi-Fi. How on earth did I survive in such circumstances?! How could I possibly live without the ability to check my Emails, send messages on WhatsApp and get my daily fix of funny memes on Insta? Even more importantly, what about catching up with what was going on in the World Cup?!
If only someone could have shared an internet connection, I know many would have been so blessed by sharing in their internet access. However, there would have certain have been a limit to how many could have logged on before the data allowance ran out.
Of course I’m exaggerating, but it was amazing how much I was used to so much being available to me on this device I carry around in my pocket and I know I wasn’t the only one lacking their usual fix. Maybe some of us even long for our data connection almost as much as we long for food?!
In the Bible there is a story of a little boy who planned ahead when he went to hear Jesus speak… he had his picnic ready. But what he wasn’t prepared for was what would happen with it! This young lad’s little picnic, when placed in the hands of Jesus, ended up feeding a crowd of well over 5000. Some barley loaves and fish that should only really have been sufficient to feed a few ended up feeding a crowd bigger than we could hold in any venue in Aberystwyth!
Other people had not come prepared that day and had grown hungry but this boy’s willingness to share led to a miraculous all you can eat buffet! By sharing and giving what he had to Jesus, he found himself at the centre of the most amazing supernatural event. Not only was everyone full but there were even twelve baskets of food left over! You can read about it in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel.
You may not yet have witnessed a miracle quite like this, but there is always something very special that takes place when one person shares what they have in their hands with others. Perhaps you are carrying something that, if you share it, could make a difference to someone around you. Maybe blessing someone else with something from the picnic basket of your life will not only touch them… maybe it will also lead you to experience something out of this world.
Now… back to my problem – does anyone have an ‘all you can eat’ data plan I can share?