A Thanksgiving Testimony at a Boys Home

by Gregg Gibbons

As we think about this Thanksgiving dinner tonight, also think about the Gospel of John chapter 6 verses 5 through 14 about Jesus and His disciples encountering over 5000 hungry people. If we were to knock out that side of this gym and extend the gym all the way to the horse barn, and then fill this enlarged gym with people, there would be 5000 hungry people!

The miracle of this story centers around a little boy…a boy not unlike any boy here at the Boys Home…a little boy hardly even noticed. This boy came up to Jesus with five loaves of bread and two small fish…not much at all…and surely not enough to feed all 5000 people.

But Jesus did two things.

First, Jesus said to the disciples to make the people sit down…just like all of us here tonight. Think about this. When we sit down, we rest. Jesus wants people to rest from their own attempts to work out the circumstances of life. Jesus wants people to trust His provisions for their every need. That's what we can be thankful for, a God who provides when we sit down and rest and watch Him work out His love in our lives, particularly in the lives of these precious boys. Tonight, we can sit down and rest and be thankful for this bountiful meal to share from His hands.

Second, Jesus took the loaves of bread and the fish from the little boy. Now here's the miracle: the little boy humbly gave Jesus the bread and fish. What's the miracle you say? To human eyes, the boy did not have much at all…BUT…when the little boy entrusted all that he did have into the hands of Jesus, Jesus fed the entire 5000 people!

This is the miracle of the Boys Home for which we are so thankful. Young boys willing to learn how to take all that they have, which with human eyes may not look like much, and learning to watch God bless other people through their lives. Yes, this is the miracle of the Boys Home…boys learning that they are loved and are immensely valuable.

And for this miraculous truth we are so thankful.

© 2003 Gregg Gibbons