Friend, Lend Me Three Loaves
Last week I posted a recipe for banana bread, but I didn't write everything I had wanted to write. I didn't leave out any ingredients or forget a step in the recipe, but I didn't take the time to write out everything that was on my mind.
This recipe made me think about the passage from Luke 11 when Christ tells the parable of the man who comes at midnight asking for three loaves of bread. He explains that a friend has arrived and there is no bread in the house, so he awakens his neighbor to borrow some. The neighbor has excuses - it's late, the children are in bed and he's too tired to get up and do anything.
The greatest blessing comes from verse 8: Jesus says that because of the man's preseverance, the neighbor would rise and give him all that he needed. In the previous verse he had only asked for three loaves, but the story says that he was given more than he asked for.
These few verses bless my heart every time I read them. Isn't this what God does for us when we pray? He hears and waits for the perfect time to shower us with blessing, sometimes long after we think the prayer has gone unanswered. And His response is always much more than we asked for, or could hope for. The Lord goes exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think.
And then out of our overflowing bounty from the Lord, we can pass something on to others. Jesus instructs that we aren't to be like that tucked-in-for-the-night neighbor that was disgruntled when asked for help. Our calling as Christian women is to have the bread on hand so we can give freely whenever we're needed.
Do you have what you need in the "pantry" to offer those in need? Have you stocked up the necessary bread by doing your own studying, praying and reading? We never know when our service to God will be needed, so we're called to have the bread ready and waiting for the perfect moment.
What bread do you have to offer?
This recipe made me think about the passage from Luke 11 when Christ tells the parable of the man who comes at midnight asking for three loaves of bread. He explains that a friend has arrived and there is no bread in the house, so he awakens his neighbor to borrow some. The neighbor has excuses - it's late, the children are in bed and he's too tired to get up and do anything.
The greatest blessing comes from verse 8: Jesus says that because of the man's preseverance, the neighbor would rise and give him all that he needed. In the previous verse he had only asked for three loaves, but the story says that he was given more than he asked for.
These few verses bless my heart every time I read them. Isn't this what God does for us when we pray? He hears and waits for the perfect time to shower us with blessing, sometimes long after we think the prayer has gone unanswered. And His response is always much more than we asked for, or could hope for. The Lord goes exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think.
And then out of our overflowing bounty from the Lord, we can pass something on to others. Jesus instructs that we aren't to be like that tucked-in-for-the-night neighbor that was disgruntled when asked for help. Our calling as Christian women is to have the bread on hand so we can give freely whenever we're needed.
Do you have what you need in the "pantry" to offer those in need? Have you stocked up the necessary bread by doing your own studying, praying and reading? We never know when our service to God will be needed, so we're called to have the bread ready and waiting for the perfect moment.
What bread do you have to offer?
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