The Ministry of the Leftovers

Listen. John six twelve reads. When they were filled, he said,

unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that

nothing be lost. Jesus had just multiplied bread and fish

in miraculous fashion. Five loaves and two fish transformed into

a feast for thousands. But after the miracle, after the

crowd was satisfied, after the abundance overflowed, Jesus issued a

curious command, gather the leftovers. The fragments matter to God.

In a culture that celebrates the full, the finished, the

first God values the fragments. What others discard. He collects

what others walk past. He gathers the broken pieces, the

half eaten portions, the crumbs of the miraculous. Jesus says,

don't leave them behind. This speaks to his nature. He

is not wasteful with grace. He does not abandon the partial.

He is the redeemer of what remains. Many of us

know what it feels like to be a fragment left behind,

used up, almost forgotten. But the hands of the Savior

reach for what others leave behind. In those hands, even

the fragments become full of purpose. So don't underestimate what's

left If it's still in his hands, it's still in

his plan.