A Word about Diligence

Today I want to share a word about diligence, as I comment on John 6:5-13. This passage reads:

After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.  And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?  And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

Diligence . . .

Of all the values and words in the world we might discuss, diligence is . . . one of them. 

It is not the most exciting value or word. It is not the most interesting value or word. It is not the most fascinating or flashy or endearing value or word.  It may be the value or word that is most likely to produce a response of . . .“Meh.”

Diligence may be one of the most underrated values, but that doesn’t mean it is not important, nay, vital. Our focal passage for today is evidence of this fact.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEL:

Jesus had no problems gathering a crowd, particularly in His early ministry in Galilee. People were drawn to Him by His miracles, but also by His teaching, both of which were done with authority. Jesus wanted people to listen to Him more than to come to Him looking for miracles, but the miraculous had an important place in His ministry.

As we know from John and other references in the Gospels, a great crowd had gathered one day to hear Jesus teach. They were out in the countryside and the hour grew late, and the people grew hungry. When the disciples pointed this out to Jesus, He turned to the disciples and asked them what their plan was for feeding the multitude. This was, as we used to call it in the army, “An opportunity to excel.”

His followers, however, were at a loss; they said it would take over a half a year’s wages to feed such a crowd! They scouted about and all they could find was a young boy’s lunch of five small loaves, and two fish. What good was that? It was like trying to put out the fires of Hell with a water pistol!

AN OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH:

I can almost see Jesus shaking His head, and saying, “Oh really? Watch this!” Jesus would not have said such a thing because He was humble, and as the Creator of the universe, He really didn’t need to brag on Himself. Still, in my human frailty I wish that He had! He then proceeded to feed that great multitude with a small boy’s lunch. He did all of this in this way so He could teach some vital lessons.

First, Jesus knew what He was doing. We can have confidence in Jesus because He has everything under control.

Next, Jesus cared for people. He cared about their temporal situation as well as their eternal situation. We need to care for people like Jesus did.

Third, Jesus had the power to act. Jesus was the Creator of the universe, and He is the Sustainer of the universe, and His arm is not shortened. He can and He will act!

Also, Jesus did it up right! Not only was everyone satisfied, but the leftovers were plentiful as well! As Malachi wrote, 

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Finally, Jesus allowed others to participate in His work, and that’s where the little boy’s lunch came in. That’s also where diligence came in.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE ALONGSIDE JESUS:

God graciously offers His people the opportunity to work alongside Him. Sometimes these opportunities are big, and flashy, and complicated. Sometimes, they involve making lunch.

We don’t know who made this little boy’s lunch. Chances are it was a mother or older sister. In any case, some unknown, but diligent parent or sibling thought, “There is no way I am going let Junior go out without some food!” Then they proceeded to put feet to their thoughts and made a common, everyday, but perfectly adequate lunch . . .  for one!

They had no way of knowing what Jesus was going to do with their act of diligence. They could never have imagined that Jesus would feed a multitude with such meager rations. They only knew that the right, the diligent, thing to do was to send out their son or brother with lunch. Because they were diligent in a small, everyday matter, they got to be a silent partner with Jesus in one of His most famous miracles!

So, what if that unsung mom or sis didn’t do the right thing that morning. What if they had slept late, or what if they didn’t care if Junior was hungry? Would that have kept Jesus from feeding everyone (including Junior)? Of course not, Jesus as Creator could make bread and fish appear from nowhere. Everyone would have still been fed, and there still would have been baskets and baskets of leftovers. The only one to miss out would have been the silent partner, the slothful sluggard who let a little boy leave home without lunch.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US:

When we are diligent, when we take care of our business, we have no more way of knowing what God will do with our diligence than the one who packed that lunch. What we do know, however is a couple of facts.

First, as one of my former bosses liked to say, we should “always do the right thing, even when no one is looking.” That may mean doing something significant or it might mean packing a lunch, but it is always right to do the right thing.

Second, when we are diligent, when we do the right thing, we make it possible for God to use us in ways we can never imagine. Take for example this instruction from the writer of Hebrews: 

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Diligence isn’t flashy or popular with people; but apparently it is high on God’s list of values! Those who have ears to hear, let them hear!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt