Dear Faith Family, 

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?  And do you not remember? (Mark 8:18). 

“I was driving to work, which was about 15-20 minutes away when I realized that I forgot my keys. Even though I was halfway there and I was going to be late, I went ahead and turned around. When I got back home and looked for my keys, I was frustrated that I couldn't find them.”  (reddit.com) 

Just let that sink in for a moment.  Wonder how the car started?!  It’s funny, because in this case, we’re not the ones looking for our keys, right?!  Have you ever looked for something that was in your pocket?  Worse yet, in your hand? 

The disciples, Mark 8:14, had forgotten to bring bread.  They were left with just one loaf in the boat.  Wouldn’t you love to have been a fly on the wall of the disciples’ brains?  Wonder what they were thinking about?  So many disciples.  So little bread.  Did they start playing the blame game?  Like, so and so should have thought to bring the bread!  Or, I deserve to eat that one loaf, or at least part of it, because….  

Do make note that Jesus was present and apparently unaccounted for!  Jesus began asking His disciples some seemingly unrelated, if not random, questions.  Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread?  We’re hungry.  There’s more of us than there is bread.  Do you not yet perceive or understand?  I think we do.  One loaf of bread.  More than one disciple.  Hunger.  Lack.  Are your hearts hardened?  That doesn’t sound good.  It really has nothing to do with the heart.  It’s our stomachs that we’re worried about right now.  Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?  Did we miss something?  Is there some bread on board that we haven’t seen yet?  And did we just not hear You tell us that it was here?  And do you not remember?  No, we did not remember the bread.  Did we forget something else?  Remember what? 

That’s when Jesus referred His disciples back to verse one.  You do remember, right?  The great crowd.  Nothing to eat.  Not a Chick-fil-A in sight!  And yet, after prayer, they ate and were satisfied.  Oh yeah, and there were leftovers!  Oh yeah, and that wasn’t the first time!  Go back two chapters to Mark 6. 

The disciples failed to remember.  They failed to call to mind.  What if one disciple, just one, had reminded the others?  What if one disciple got excited about yet another opportunity to see Jesus provide?  What if one disciple had celebrated the provision for the 5,000 or the 4,000 by posting Jesus’ activity on social media?! 

Here's the good news.  Jesus is still working today!  What has He done in your life?  Where have you seen His answers to prayer?  How has He provided for you?  Maybe we need to do a better job of celebrating His provision so that we might better remember His provision when trials make it hard to see. 

In the end it isn’t about the bread.  It’s about the Bread of Life!  Remember? 

Celebrating The Bread of Life, 
Pastor Karl