John 6:12-13

John 6:12-13 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Daniel 5:26-28 “This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Jesus said, "Let nothing be wasted,” a far different approach from the wasteful attitude of most Americans who waste everything, filling our landfills with still useable items we think out of style, ugly, obsolete, or just in the way. In a country blessed with abundant resources and manufactured goods, waste management engineers seek creative solutions for trash, such as plans to ship our leavings into space--a fresh frontier to fill. This pernicious mindset corrupts the thinking of believers as we handle God's abundance with reckless disregard for his generous supply and a selfish desire for more because we are not satisfied. In our rush to follow our own agendas, many fail to thank God for his bounteous gifts, forsaking even a quick prayer at mealtime. In a world where people sweep desert floors, looking for bits and pieces to sell or trade, where little children sort through mounds of trash for a valuable scrap of cloth or morsel of food, we not only take our abundance for granted, we complain about our daily bread: discard what does not please us, refuse what does not tickle our palate, order more than we could or should eat, and categorically reject entire sub-groups of food. "I don't eat vegetables, I don't like any fruit except mangos and figs, I do not eat soup or anything mixed together, and no leftovers touch these lips."

If there were ever a new Babylon, such behaviors surely qualify us for candidacy. Squandering God's blessings, we glorify man rather than God; we extoll capitalism rather than the Creator of all things; we give credit for our "success" to the great "American work ethic" instead of heeding the Spirit. Give thanks appears 34 times in the NIV translation of the Bible, if we ignore all the other forms of the word, such as in Paul's instruction: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7) We even take credit for our gift of freedom, attributing our liberty to the diligence and perseverance of the our skilled and heroic leaders and forefathers. In some ways we shake our fist in God's face as did the people in Babel or Adam and Eve in the garden: "We can do anything: we can become like God."

Yet even as God reveals our weaknesses, our inclination to waste and to destroy, our moral depravity and wretched state of selfishness and greed: Jesus says, Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19) We fall so far so quickly into fleshly patterns, yet the call of God resounds through the ages. The Old Testament prophets spoke for God: You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without men or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” (Jeremiah 33:10-11) John sees Christ high and lifted up and shares his vision of God's grace: And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign." (Revelation 11:16-17) May we join the multitudes around the throne, singing praises and giving thanks for the riches of God's mercy and grace poured over the heart of man continually! Jesus said, "Let nothing be wasted.” May we waste not his mercy and grace.